Sweet Temptation
by chrisevefan
Summary: This story picks up after Chris helped rescue Elizabeth at Ian's cabin. On the ride home, he encounters Eve who is very much alive and life as he knows it will never be the same.
1. Default Chapter

Sweet Temptation 

Chapter One   
  
"This was all your fault," Elizabeth chastised callously as Chris drove away from Ian's cabin after saving Elizabeth from Ian's attack on her, "If you hadn't been so pigheaded then I never would've been put in that situation to begin with you know."   
  
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you put yourself in that situation to begin with in your blatantly obvious attempts to make me jealous," Chris grumbled back at her with obvious irritation, "This was your fault."   
  
"My fault," she huffed in response, "You were the one that slashed the tired and almost caused Ian to turn me into a blood sucker once again. This is all your fault because you can't control your hormones, Ramsey. Can I help it if you think I'm a wonderful, irresistible woman?"   
  
"Irresistible?" he repeated with a heavy frown, "More like impossible and irritating. I can't stand you Elizabeth."   
  
"Then why slash the tires," she challenged, "If you can't tolerate being around me, then why make such a fine mess of things unless of course it was your jealous rage?"   
  
"You're living in the land of delusion," he threw back at her simply, "because that's not at all what it was on my end."   
  
"Then what was it?" she demanded glaring in his general direction as she watched him closely.   
  
"It was a case of my not wanting to be played again," Chris answered tightly, his fingers clenching over the steering wheel, "Maybe I'm tired of having things happen the way that they do and when you mentioned Ian's cabin, it pissed me off quite honestly."   
  
"Because you were jealous," her voice raised with eagerness.   
  
"No because I don't like losing and especially not at that place," Chris cut her off abrasively, "I don't want to give Ian the chance to feel superior over me once again."   
  
"Because you were afraid he'd won me over," Elizabeth smiled feeling her impending victory eminent as her thoughts lingered to the way she'd grown fond of Chris over the last few months, "Admit it, you're crazy about me, Chris."   
  
"I think I'm going crazy and yes you're involved, but it's not like you'd imagined it to be," he took a curve down the winding road carefully as the rain began to come down ahead of them, "You're a dangerous, foolish woman Elizabeth and the sooner I get you out of my life, the better I'll be."   
  
"Don't you mean the sooner you have me, the better off we'll both me?" she lifted a perfectly sculpted brow easing her hand across his leg in a seductive fashion, "I mean isn't that what this is really about?"   
  
"This is insane," he looked down to her hand on his lap briefly before focusing on the road ahead as his wipers wiped away the pounding rain clearing up a thin path of vision for him to the road before him.   
  
"Chris, would you stop being so impossible," Elizabeth sighed thinking to her talk with Ian, "You and I both know that there's no point in fighting it because we have a connection with one another--a connection that neither one of us wanted or asked for, but it's still there nonetheless and the only way to really get over it is to well, for lack of a better term purge the fixation if you will."   
  
"Purge the fixation?" he repeated turning his attention to her momentarily before looking to the road ahead.   
  
"That's right," she nodded sliding her hand up his leg in a seductive fashion that she'd known to get her closer to what she'd wanted in a man time and time again. Chris was rich, attractive, rich and funny and not to mention rich and that was all she needed to get herself back into the lifestyle that she'd grown so very accustomed to being married to Malcolm. Sure Chris hadn't been her first choice in Port Charles, but he had enough of what she needed to keep him around for a while.   
  
"And how do you propose we do that," he questioned feeling her fingers fan up over his thigh easing in over his body ever so slowly.   
  
"Well I was thinking that the only way to really get rid of all this obvious sexual tension was to explore it if you will in a one on one setting--you know perhaps even in this car if you'd like."   
  
Chris sucked in a breath as he turned his attention to her fully surprise evident behind his dark eyes, "You want to go for it in my car?"   
  
"Sure," she flashed him her best look of temptation as she reached her target, massaging her palm over his body, "why not?"   
  
"You're serious," Chris blinked back in surprise feeling her fingers settling in over his lap, "Right now?"   
  
"Right here," she nodded eagerly, "We can make love in the car and see where it goes from here," she teased her hand over his body as Chris grabbed her wrist stopping her mid-movement and a laugh spilled over her lips, "Tell me Chris, ever do it in a car before?"   
  
"Actually," he felt a smile tease over his lips as he carefully dislodged her hand from his body giving himself a chance to breath, "I have and in this car as a matter of fact."   
  
"Oh really?" her lip curled into a pout as she sank back into the leather passenger seat, "Well, I'm sure it couldn't possibly have been as good as it's going to be for you tonight if you pull over."   
  
"Elizabeth, can I ask you a question," Chris glanced over at her seeing her finger teasing over the top of her blouse casually popping open a button, "How many men have decided not to ravish you after that kind of come on?"   
  
"Shouldn't you be asking how many man have taken me up on the offer after this kind of come on because given that I've had a hundred percent rate of seduction, that might be an easier answer."   
  
"Actually," Chris shook his head thinking about the ways in which he'd always managed to find himself caught up in the crazy schemes Elizabeth had put him into over the last few months. Had life become that pathetic for him?   
  
"Chris, I don't know what you're worried about," she began with a hint of a smile, "I'm trying to make this as easy as possible for you considering how you were ready to take Ian on and be my hero."   
  
"Believe it or not that had nothing to do with you," Chris admitted after a moment's hesitation, "It had more to do with something else."   
  
"Chris, you don't have to pretend," Elizabeth began leaning over to kiss the side of his neck with a low moan, "I already know how you feel for me…"   
  
"Elizabeth, knock it off," he spoke her name sharply feeling himself jump a bit at the contact as the car hit a puddle and began to skid on the winding road. He struggled to get control of the wheel as Elizabeth flew back into her seat and a tiny scream fell from her lips.   
  
"Chris, watch out," she screamed seeing a figure before them as Chris's eyes fell upon the woman in the middle of the road. Seeing her before him in the darkness, he steered the car away from her hoping to avoid disaster as his car crashed into the embankment.   
  
A dull hiss began to roar over the silence that filled his car as Chris looked to Elizabeth seeing that she'd been shaken in the crash, but still she looked alright for the most part as he reached out to touch her arm.   
  
"Elizabeth," he spoke her name as her angry eyes darted towards him.   
  
"You imbecile. I told you to keep your eyes on the road considering the weather," she hissed in response pulling at her seatbelt before plucking it open, "Honestly, if you wouldn't have let your hormones get the best of you, then we wouldn't be in this position right now lost in the middle of nowhere with no one around us."   
  
"I can see your fine," he grumbled moving away from her as he looked out into the stormy night beyond his car, "so I think I'll go check on the person in the road."   
  
"Wait a second," she tugged on his arm urging him towards her once again, "Chris, you can't just leave me. Don't go out there."   
  
"Elizabeth, I have to check on the person. They might be hurt."   
  
"But I might be hurting and I need you," she threw out desperately, "Don't go."   
  
"Elizabeth," he untangled himself from her reach, "I have to check this one out."   
  
"Chris, please don't go," she begged as he opened the door and stepped out into the night feeling the icy sleet and rain pour down upon him. A frown touched over his lips as he realized that this kind of storm wasn't typical for a New York night like this. Sure, the autumn had brought with it a sense of chill and the feel of change, but not like this one seemed.   
  
Hanging over the night was a feeling, a strong, eerie thing that hung over the pit of his stomach as Chris noticed the remains of a car across the road. It seemed to be teetering on the edge of the bridge that Chris had maneuvered himself over and it seemed on the verge falling into the river beneath the bridge. He quickly rushed over to the car wondering if it's occupant had been trying to flag someone down when he'd lost control of his own car. While he'd been too distracted by Elizabeth at the time, he'd struggled to keep from having a collision with the woman he'd seen--at least he'd thought it was a woman, he realized suddenly seeing that nothing was as clear as it should've been. He hadn't thought he'd hit anyone, but given the degree of the rain and the winds, he couldn't be sure.   
  
"Chris, get back in here," Elizabeth's voice echoed through the darkness, "It's cold in the car."   
  
"Call 911," Chris ordered back as he waved in her direction.   
  
"What?"   
  
"Call for help," he threw out again realizing that she'd be completely useless as he looked to the car before him. Moving forward he could see that the driver's side door was thrown open completely as the car teetered on the edge of the bridge. He couldn't see much more than darkness from within it's simple interior as he reached out wondering if there was someone still inside. He made one more step forward as the car spilled off the edge plummeting into the water below with a resounding thud.   
  
Fear and adrenaline flooded over his senses as Chris began to tear away at his jacket wondering if there was someone inside the car before him. The crashing waves began to tear at the car, causing a screeching hiss to rise above the angry waters below. In it's decent, the car had caused an uproar in the river as the storm took no prisoners as it brought forth the end of the automobile tearing and ripping it apart before Chris. He looked back to his own car wondering if Elizabeth would follow simple direction before he fully shed his coat as the doctor in him took over and he prepared to risk it all as he thought of reaching out for the car's occupants. Just as he was about to go over the edge, he watched a hand rise above the darkness clenching onto the earth beneath the fingers that hung on so desperately.   
  
"Help me," a pinched voice cried out as Chris turned his attention to the pale hand before him. Rushing towards the sound, he knelt down on the ground straining to see the face behind the hand that beckoned him. Suddenly none of that mattered as saving this person before him was top priority. He pulled her towards him, hearing the sounds of her heart pounding as he hoisted her up into his arms, or was it his own as the trembling woman sank into him. He could feel the chill that flooded over her as her arms wrapped around his strong shoulders allowing him to pull her to safety.   
  
"You're going to be okay," he promised feeling the ground crumble beneath him as he fell back taking her down with him as the sounds of the car being torn apart below carried over them.   
  
Feeling her weight shift over him as he collapsed he realized she must've passed out as fear flooded over him. Chris quickly turned her in his arms, carefully placing her beneath him on the ground as he tried to shield her from the storm. Looking over at his car, he strained to see if Elizabeth had made some attempt to get help, but all he could make out was the blinding haze his headlights had created and that was suddenly secondary to the woman beneath him. His eyes fell upon her scantly clad form as he noted the flimsy, frail looking black silken slip she'd been donned in as he hung over her soft, shapely curves. Her legs were scraped and bruised with obvious abused evident in her as he wondered if he had in fact hit her in the crash. Fear consumed him as he noted the needle marks running up her arms, causing her otherwise flawless skin to be tainted by the redness that was revealed to him. Feeling a worry rush over him, he began to wonder just what this woman was doing out on a night like this as he reached out to collect the jacket he'd discarded in a haste.   
  
"How did you get out here," he questioned aloud covering her up to the best of his ability as he lifted his fingers to her neck seeking out a pulse as her dark hair cascaded around her face hiding it from him. A breath of relief rushed over him as she seemed to have a pulse--a weak, unsteady one, but it was there none the less. As he reached for her arm, he realized that the track marks he'd noticed were seemingly something that had been around long before the accident. Wondering if she was some kind of junkie, he'd thought that perhaps she'd gotten behind the wheel of her car and stumbled out before him in a haze, unaware of how things were, but given her appearance, he had his doubts. She was thin--too thin to be considered healthy and as he looked at what she'd been wearing on top of the position her car was in, another thought occurred to him--one with much more sinister intent. Reaching forward, his fingers pressed through her dark hair as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind him.   
  
"Chris, I called for help," Elizabeth explained simply rubbing her arms as the rain poured down upon her, "They think they'll be able to find us and there's an ambulance on the way."   
  
"I don't know if they'll make it in time," Chris began as he tried to see if the woman before him was breathing.   
  
"Chris, it's not safe out here," she watched as he repositioned himself over the body before him, "Chris, what are you doing? Did you hit her?"   
  
"I don't know Elizabeth," Chris answered reaching out for her hair once again in an attempt to sweep it from her face.   
  
"Well don't touch her if you did. If she's hurt and it's because of us…"   
  
"Elizabeth, enough," he glared up at her as he ignored her protests and he turned his attention to the woman before him. Sweeping her hair from her face, he felt a gasp fall from his lips as the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance, "No, it can't be."   
  
"What?" Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise, "Is she dead?"   
  
"I thought so," Chris breathed as Elizabeth stepped forward.   
  
"What?"   
  
"She can't die on me," Chris leaned forward administering mouth to mouth as his fears poured down upon him deeper and harder than the rain that surrounded them. He felt her chest rise and fall with his breath flooding life into hers as he prayed that this wasn't just a dream--some kind of nightmare come to life. If this was what he believed it to be, then he had a chance to save the very thing that had slipped out of his life once before.   
  
"Chris, what's happening," Elizabeth turned towards the sound of the sirens, "Thank God someone's coming."   
  
"Make sure they see us," Chris began desperately as Elizabeth headed towards the sound. He looked down to the woman before him ready to do anything and everything in his power as he realized he wouldn't have forgotten her face--the face that had haunted his dreams each and every night since he'd thought he'd lost her. She was his angel, his heaven and now she was before him, cold and clammy on the ground as the rain surrounded them, but as he offered up his breath of life into her praying for a miracle, a gasp spilled out from her lungs and she began to cough as he pulled away from her. Her dark eyelashes fluttered up at him in a haze as she continued to cough, water spilling over her lips as Chris reached out to her turning her so she wouldn't choke as she coughed.   
  
"You're going to be okay," he promised as she took in a breath, her pulse racing wildly as Chris heard the sounds of the paramedics just beyond the place they'd wound up in with one another.   
  
"Wh-what happened," she questioned weakly as she turned her eyes up towards him, confusion evident in her tone as she blinked in surprise, "Chris?"   
  
"It's okay," he tried to assure her as he too blinked a few times wondering if this was all just a dream, "Eve, everything's going to be okay…" he offered once more.   
  
"I know that now," she whispered hoarsely as her head fell back and she collapsed in his arms just in time for the paramedics to join the scene as Chris realized his life was about to change forever from this moment on.   
Chapter Two 

Chris paced the darkened hallway at the hospital feeling the stickiness of his shirt cling to his every contour as his heart thudded in his chest. He'd tried to convince the paramedics that he was in fact a doctor and that he was best equipped to deal with the situation at hand, but they'd been adamant about not letting him treat Eve. Just thinking about the way she looked when he'd found her, the way her body was battered and bruised, it caused an ache to swell up inside of him as he thought to that time they'd spent in the ambulance on the way over.   
  
"Everything's going to be okay," he could still hear himself saying to her as he realized that he had far too many questions and not enough answers as he'd seen her in such a state. It brought a pain to his heart as he realized that there was so much that he didn't know, so much that he couldn't quite understand, and yet here she was plain as day before him and alive--barely alive at best, but still here on this earth.   
  
"Chris," a voice beckoned him as he turned around to find Elizabeth standing in the hallway underneath one of the fluorescent lights that shone dimly above her. Her blonde hair was tangled as she clung to the blanket that the paramedics had provided her with. She rushed over to him, her eyes smeared to a black shade as her makeup had lost the war the winds and the rain had waged upon her, "Thank God I found you."   
  
"Elizabeth," he spoke her name realizing that he'd forgotten completely about the woman he'd been driving with before all of this began. Sure, he'd known she was there, but he hadn't given her a second thought from the moment he'd found Eve. Even now, he couldn't stop thinking about the woman he'd been hoping to hear word on as Elizabeth reached out to touch his arm gently.   
  
"I was so afraid they were going to keep us in here for hours after that accident," she explained with a scowl as she shook her head allowing the droplets of water in her hair to splash all over as she shuddered at the thought, "and quite frankly this is the last place I want to be at a time like this, so let's get out of here."   
  
"I can't," Chris argued with her snapping back into the moment as her urgent tug on his arm pulled him from his thoughts of Eve.   
  
"What do you mean you can't? Did the police say that they wanted to talk to you about something else? I mean it's not like we hit that woman because you and I both know that wasn't the case," she began discontent washing over her as she shifted on her toes, "Chris, you told them we didn't hit her, right?"   
  
"Elizabeth, that's not it," he shook his head dismissively turning towards the ER once again, "I can't leave."   
  
"If the police don't want you to stick around for more questioning and they know that we had nothing to do with this accident, then as far as I can see we're free to go. The woman is in good hands now and we did our charity work for the day, so now it's time to get home. I'm wet and I'm tired and I'm a bit cranky after this disaster of a night--not to mention that my bee sting from earlier still has my head a bit hazy so I would really like to slip into something more comfortable and dry preferably and well I'd also like to maybe take on one of those killer martinis of yours."   
  
"I'm not going anywhere," Chris answered firmly as he glanced back at her seeing her eagerness to split from the scene they'd found themselves in as her main concern had returned to her top priority--herself.   
  
"Of course you are," she started to slink her arm in his, "Crhis, I know I'd promised you a night full of passion and maybe once we get out of this place and away from the smells of the blood and the disinfectant, well perhaps it could perk me up a bit and we could return back to that seduction scenario we'd talked about."   
  
"Elizabeth, what part of no don't you understand," he frowned deeply rubbing the back of his neck as the tension in his head mounted and he felt as though he was going to burst from the inside out, "I'm not going anywhere."   
  
"Then how the hell do you expect me to get home," she placed her hands on her hips defiantly, "You were the one who slashed my tires so you're the one who is responsible for getting me back home you know. Clearly we wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for you…"   
  
"Elizabeth, not now," he raised his hand to silence her as his voice grew tight with anxiety, "I'm not in the mood for this."   
  
"Whether you're in the mood for it or not, this is your reality check there Chris and you put us in this situation and I demand you take us out of it starting now."   
  
"Fine," he reached into his pocket feeling the damp material cling against him as he withdrew his wallet. Quickly he fumbled within it's leather contents and he pulled out a couple hundred dollar bills and handed them over to her, "Here you are."   
  
"Excuse me?" she blinked back at him insulted, "What the hell is this?"   
  
"It's money for a cab," he answered flatly before turning towards the ER once again, "so go home."   
  
"Now just wait one damned minute here," she marched up behind him, "I'm not going anywhere in a cab when you are clearly capable of taking me home and I expect you to do just that. I mean it's not like you have any obligations here," she paused contemplating her words as she stepped towards him placing her hand on his shoulder, "Chris, I know that the doctor in you is wanting us to say, but the man in you should be thinking about what's waiting for us back home in Port Charles. It's been a long day and I'd just as soon have it end now if we're going to be stuck here at this hospital."   
  
"I gave you money for a cab," he answered simply with a shrug of his shoulders as he stepped out of her touch, "so why don't you just call it a night and head on home as I'm sure you'll have more than enough money there for the ride."   
  
"Chris, that's not what this is about and you know it," she stomped her foot finding him increasingly difficult as she felt the faint buzzing coming from inside her purse. With a huff, she fished inside pulling out her phone and bringing it up to her ear despite the many signs hanging in front of her about not using a cell phone in this particular area of the hospital. "Hello…" she began hearing the voice on the other end of the line as her mood perked up, "Alison, oh hi darling," she walked away from Chris as he felt a breath of relief escape his lips.   
  
Suddenly without Elizabeth around, Chris felt some peace and quiet despite his raging emotions about what he'd encountered during the crash. Even now as he replayed the events in his head over and over again, he struggled to find a way to make sense of what had happened with Eve. How was it she came to be on that bridge? On that road so near death when she'd been taken from him so very long ago? Could it be that she'd never truly left, but if that had been the case then where had she been? He knew now that there was no easy explanation to things, but the sooner he heard word on her, the better off he'd be as he had a sinking sensation that at any moment he would awaken and it would all be nothing more than a dream--much like the ones that had haunted him all these months without her.   
  
"Chris, that was Alison," Elizabeth's voice pierced through his questioning mind like nails on a chalkboard as she tugged on his arm, "She's getting married right away and we have to get out of here like now."   
  
"Elizabeth, I'm not leaving," he snapped turning to face her.   
  
"Of course you are," she ignored his angry eyes, "because I refuse to miss the most important day of my daughter's life because you're having a temper tantrum. She and Rafe aren't far from here and if we hurry I'm sure we'll find time to…"   
  
"You can find time, but I'm not going," Chris answered flatly, "Not now and not with you."   
  
"Chris, what has gotten into you," she curled her lip in a pout, "You're not acting like yourself and I'm starting to worry about you. Did you hit your head in the crash?"   
  
"Elizabeth," he began finding himself at his wit's end as the door opened before him and the doctor on duty stepped out into the waiting room. Immediately all thoughts of arguing with Elizabeth took a back seat as he rushed over to the doctor before him.   
  
"Dr. Ramsey," the man questioned as Chris nodded eagerly.   
  
"Tell me she's alright," Chris pleaded with him, "that there wasn't more damage than I'd imagined."   
  
"Other than having been subjected to some pretty potent narcotics and a severely sprained wrist, not to mention the nasty bump she took on the head, well I think our patient is going to pull through this as long as we can run her through the course of detoxing her," he answered simply as a breath of relief flooded over Chris's lips.   
  
"Then I can see her, yes?" Chris questioned eagerly.   
  
The doctor nodded, "We'd like to keep her under observation and work on flushing her system a bit more, but I'm sure I can find a way to get you in to see her as you are family, right?"   
  
Chris nodded in response, "That's right, I'm her husband."   
  
"Her what," Elizabeth's eyes widened in response to him as she pulled on his arm tearing him away from the doctor before them, "Why the hell did you say that? Chris, you and I know nothing about this woman other than she was some junkie on the streets and now you're taking up with her pretending to be her husband. Chris, what's going on?"   
  
"Elizabeth, I don't have time to explain," Chris started to pull away from her.   
  
"Make time," she demanded harshly, "because I have to get to my daughter's wedding and I won't let something as ridiculous as this keep me from getting there."   
  
"Then go," Chris shot back simply as his eyes penetrated hers, "I'm not leaving her."   
  
"You're making a mistake," Elizabeth's lip curled into a pout as she watched him closely, "You do realize that, don't you because if I walk out this door without you, this isn't going to be one of those situations where I come back wanting you to be a part of my life and share things with me. I'm not going to be in a giving mood if you don't change your mind."   
  
"Elizabeth, I've made a lot of mistakes up until this point, but I'm not going to do that again," he stated simply before turning to the doctor before him, "I'd like to see my wife now."   
  
"Of course," the man nodded in response leading Chris away from the waiting room as Elizabeth watched his retreat wondering what in the world had possessed Chris to behave so impulsively and so stubbornly about a woman neither of them had known before the accident. Still as she thought to Alison's special day, she realized that Chris would have to wait as her daughter was now her top priority. With that thought in mind, she left the hospital realizing that one way or another Chris would be back. It would only be a matter of time before he started groveling to her and when he did, oh would she ever make him beg, but now, well now was all about Alison. 

******************** 

Silently Chris made his way into the dimly lit recovery room Eve was laying in. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that the fluorescent lighting overhead did nothing to hide the bruises that ran up along the inside of her arm. Her pale features were enough to cause his heart to shudder as her cheekbones seemed so hollow, so lost in the misery that she'd somehow been subjected to all this time as he pulled up a seat beside her. Now as he listened to the sounds of the machine's she was hooked up to, his heart pounded in his chest, blood racing through his veins as he realized that despite the time and torture she'd somehow been subjected to, she was still radiant as ever--as beautiful as the day he'd first fallen in love with her and in this instant in being near her again, he realized he never wanted to let go of her again.   
  
Slowly Chris eased his finger tips up over her hand, brushing the pad of his thumb tenderly against her palm as she twitched ever so slightly, clearly a sign of the drugs working through her system as his heart ached. He lifted her hand up to his lips kissing it tenderly as tears pooled in his eyes, "What happened to you," he questioned in a tight whisper as he tried to make sense of what was taking place.   
  
Chris thought to the last time he'd seen her, to the day he'd been unable to share his feelings with her. He'd wanted so many times to seize the moment and reclaim that day again and again as it would've kept her from the horrible twist of fate that had ripped her from his life, but now as she lay before him hanging onto the life that had pressed through her lungs carrying forth a breath with each passing moment, he saw that she was real. She wasn't just a figment of his imagination and as he leaned in beside her holding her hand to his face, he felt the tears blurring his vision as he'd somehow been granted a miracle--somewhere out there destiny had offered him a second chance at happiness that he'd believed was gone from his life forever.   
  
"You're safe now," he promised kissing her hand tenderly as he vowed to himself that he would do anything in his power to keep her from harm's way as he was given the gift of a lifetime in her return. Nothing would ever keep him from her again as in holding her like this, feeling the warmth of her hand against his cheek as his tears overcame him, he promised himself that this time there would be no more mistakes--no more empty promises and secrets. From this moment on he was going to allow his heart to lead him to the love he'd missed out on before with the only woman he'd ever truly felt this kind of connection to. From here on out it was about keeping Eve Lambert in his life and he realized that he'd do it at any cost as she was worth everything to him. 

Chapter Three 

The cool hospital air hung over Chris as he tried to make himself comfortable beside Eve on the small bed. Earlier in the evening he'd been at a chair by her side, but when she'd started to tremble a bit--lost in some kind of nightmare, he took it upon himself to ease in beside her, keeping her warm as her fears haunted her dreams. Now she was still in his arms and looking so very lost as he held on to her realizing that despite the discomfort the hospital bed provided, he was content to be sharing this moment with her. Gently he eased a piece of her long, dark hair from her face as he focused on her beautiful features. She was still so very breathtaking, he thought to himself as his thumb skimmed over the side of her face gently. A slow breath carried over her as his eyes traced over her features thinking of how long he'd envisioned a moment like this--how he'd longed for some kind of reunion between them in his heart while he was fully aware of the reality that surrounded his wishes. However, things had come full circle as she was here in his arms, surrounding him with the life he'd felt slipped away in her passing.   
  
"Mmmm…" a slow murmur rose from her lips as her eyelashes began to flutter and seconds later he found himself gazing down into the deep chocolate pools before him. Another sigh escaped her lips as she turned her cheek into his hand more completely, "Chris…"   
  
"Shhh…" he ordered trying to keep her calm as her lips curled in a soft, shallow sound.   
  
"Wh-where am I?" she questioned faintly as she felt his strong hold surrounding her.   
  
"You're safe now," he promised leaning forward to kiss the top of her forehead, "I'm with you."   
  
She closed her eyes and smiled at his words before snuggling in closer to him, "I hoped I'd find you," she confessed taking in a slow, soothing breath as her eyelashes fluttered open once again, "I was so afraid I'd never see you again, but here you are…"   
  
"Here I am right where I was meant to be," Chris promised easing his finger tips over the side of her face gently as she inhaled a slow, tired breath. He could feel her exhaustion still overtaking her as the after effects of the battle her body had begun the previous evening was taking it's toll on her, but now as he felt the warmth of her beside him, he realized that his dreams about forever were seemingly coming true as the only woman who'd ever really mattered in his life was right beside him.   
  
"What time is it," she asked breaking through his thoughts as her voice sounded weak, broken by the hoarseness in her throat.   
  
"It's early still," he answered softening his tone as he leaned in closer to her, "probably no later than six at best as the sun hasn't been out too long."   
  
"That's pretty early," she sighed as her eyelids fluttered open and she turned her head towards him, a hint of a smile teasing over her lips, "but it's still martini time somewhere else in the world right about now, huh?"   
  
Chris smiled at her attempt at humor as her pale features still remained colorless. The pad of his thumb skimmed over her cheekbone as he inched in towards her, "That's right Lambert. It's always martini time."   
  
"I could use one of those right about now," she whispered as a breath caught in her throat. She curled her lips as if she was waiting to say something--ready to open up a line of communication that had been broken between them for so very long, but before she could get the words out a sound filled the room and she nearly leapt out of the bed despite her condition.   
  
"I'm sorry about that," the woman before them apologized as she'd held a tray of hospital food before her. She'd seemingly stumbled into the   
  
"How's the patient this morning," the young girl smiled as her blonde hair tickled over her pug like features.   
  
"We're doing fine," Chris quickly eased himself out of bed noting the way that Eve seemed upset by the new arrival. He could still see her shaking out of the corner of his eyes and his concerns doubled as he pondered what kind of hell she'd been through since he'd last seen her. "I can take that."   
  
"Thanks…" the young girl smiled as she threw out a hint of a flirty tone, "it's my first week and I'm still getting the hang of things you see and well I'm kind of a klutz."   
  
"You did just fine," Chris offered a quick smile before adding dismissively, "but we've got it all covered in here."   
  
"Okay great," she chuckled before following up with a tiny snort as Chris turned his attention to Eve once again as she held the blanket up over her body despite her weakened condition. She looked as though she was ready to crawl out of her skin as the new arrival had set her on full alert.   
  
Chris tried to play down the situation remembering how Eve had been unwilling to be vulnerable to her fears in the past and he offered up a tiny smile before winking at Eve, "I think she likes me."   
  
"You think every woman likes you, Ramsey," she teased weakly as she began to shift into a more comfortable position on the bed.   
  
"Even so, what can I say? I'm just charming," Chris added with a hint of flirtation in his voice, "and you can't help but love me, can you?"   
  
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you," she teased back a hint of sarcasm in her voice before her tone tapered off into something a bit more fragile. "You must think I'm pathetic for responding the way I did just now, don't you?"   
  
"Why would I think that," Chris questioned carefully manuvering the table along side of the hospital bed closer to her so that he could set the tray down in front of her, "Eve, you know I'd never feel that way about you."   
  
"Well you should because that's what I am you know," she sighed looking to the food before her before placing her hand over her stomach and groaning, "I can't eat that."   
  
"Of course you can," Chris pulled the lid off one of the plate seeing the congealed slimy looking piece of Salisbury steak before him as his nose wrinkled in response to what he saw. Immediately he returned the lid to the plate and pushed the tray out of the way, "Okay maybe not…"   
  
"That looked really bad, but really," Eve turned her attention to her toes, watching the blanket as though it was the most interesting thing in the world, "I can't eat that. I can't eat anything here and Chris," she looked up at him once again with pleading eyes, "I can't stay here."   
  
"Eve, you're going to get help here," he began to explain seeing the traces of fear shining in her eyes, "You still have a long road to recovery and while you're feeling good now…"   
  
"No, you don't understand," Eve shook her head in refusal, "I can't be here. He'll find me here."   
  
"Who'll find you?" Chris questioned noting the panic that overtook her.   
  
"It's not safe here," she insisted her voice raising in volume as her eyes scanned the room, "Chris, I can't be here. You have to get me out of this place…away from him because if he finds me," she threw the blanket off of her as she began to stumble out of bed, her knees giving out on her as Chris reached out across the bed to curl his arm around her waist catching her before she fell.   
  
"Eve," he spoke her name as he pulled her further into his arms.   
  
"Chris, I can't stay here," she sobbed into his chest holding on to him as her tears overcame her, "I can't be here now not while he's still out there…not while…" she turned her teary brown eyes up in his general direction, "Chris, I need to get out of here. We need to go somewhere safe before it's too late…"   
  
"Eve, you're not making sense," Chris gave her a strange look, "I don't know what happened to you, but I swear to you that no one is going to hurt you again. Whoever did this to you is going to be punished for hurting you and…"   
  
"Chris, you can't stop him," Eve explained her voice growing more desperate by the moment, "As soon as he discovers I'm gone, he'll come after me and then…then…then there won't be anything we can do to stop him. Chris, he wants me dead. He's not going to stop until he has me--until he destroyed me completely…"   
  
"Eve, who? Who did this to you? Who is he?"   
  
"Chris, I can't," she began to tremble in his arms as she looked to the door, "I just have to get out of here. He can't find me again…"   
  
"Tell me who did this to you and I swear to you that I'll protect you…" Chris begged of her.   
  
"You can't protect me unless we keep moving. We have to get out of here before he finds out I'm here…" Eve explained again.   
  
"Who? Eve, please tell me who did this to you so that I can find him and take care of him once and for all. Let me help you…" he pleaded with her frightened eyes, "Eve, tell me who hurt you."   
  
"Chris," she bit on her lower lip as tears spilled down her cheeks and she choked up on her words before finally blurting out the horrible truth, "Your father."   
  
"What?" he blinked back at her in confusion, "what did you just say?"   
  
"Your father--Henry Ramsey did this to me," she explained further as her tears overtook her, "and if he finds me again, Chris he'll kill me this time for sure. I can't stay here," she broke down in his arms as Chris found himself holding onto her as if he'd never let go. Suddenly his fears compiled as the very thought of his father being involved in her abuse caused his blood to boil.   
  
"But how…how did he…" he felt the questioned spinning around in his mind take over as he held her, "Eve, how did my father…"   
  
"Chris, we have to get out of here…" she ignored his questions, "Please tell me that you'll get me out of this place…that we can go somewhere else…somewhere safe…"   
  
Chris looked down at her for a long moment knowing that there was far more to this story that he needed to know, but as he saw the terror building behind her dark eyes, he pulled her into his arms squeezing her close to him as he wanted to spare her anymore misery, "I promise I'll get you out of here. You'll be safe with me Eve. I'll find a way to make you feel safe again," he swore to her hoping that somehow he could uncover the truth about what happened to her and find a way to help her out of the madness that had overtaken her life. One way or another he would find a way to make her safe again and when he did, he'd also make sure the man responsible for her pain was put in his place--even if it meant taking down the man he'd grown to despite over the years as if Henry Ramsey had played a part in any of Eve's misery, he was as good as dead. That much Chris was sure of. 

….to be continued…   
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 4

"Dr. Ramsey, I would strongly suggest you take my words under advisement as in taking your wife out of a hospital at a time like this when she needs constant care could be disastrous to her recovery…" the man before Chris explained concern evident in his tone as Chris continued to finish up the paper work in the hopes of getting Eve out of the hospital as soon as possible.  
  
  
  
"My wife will be in good hands with me as I've already told you that I'm a doctor…" Chris argued his point once again with the man.  
  
  
  
"Yes, I realize that sir, but given the experience she'd been through, I would just think that in her current state of mind…" the doctor began clearing his throat as Chris looked up to him, his jaw set with heavy tension.  
  
  
  
"She'll be fine with me," Chris handed the papers back to the man before him, "I'm sure we're all set right about now."  
  
  
"I just wish you'd reconsider," a sigh of defeat fell from the doctor's lips.  
  
  
  
"Not this time I won't," Chris turned back to see Eve dressed only in the scrubs he'd managed to swipe from the hospital as her head was turned down to the floor. Cautiously he reached out to her feeling her body tremble as his hand pressed upon her shoulder. Her dark eyes gazed up at him looking confused and terrified as he helped her to her feet.  
  
  
  
"Come on," Chris whispered bringing his arm around her center, "we're going home."  
  
  
"Okay," Eve nodded burying her head in his chest as she braced her weight against him hoping that he could somehow help her escape the nightmare her life had become. While she knew she owed him so many more answers, now all that mattered was escaping at any cost.  
  
************  
  
The silence surrounded Chris and Eve as they drove down the road in the rental car he'd had sent to the hospital for the both of them. Somehow while leaving the hospital felt like the right decision to be made, Chris began to realize that going home wasn't exactly the smartest of ideas--at least not back to Port Charles after all that had happened. He took one long look at Eve, seeing her head dropped down as a slow breath fell from her lips alerting him that she was in fact asleep and it was in that instant that an idea formed in his mind. Changing lanes, he decided to head in a different direction as he vowed to put more distance between them and Port Charles--at least until he was certain of what was going on.  
  
  
  
Slowly the morning faded into night and Chris was met by the soft sighs of Eve's yawn as her eyelids fluttered open and she stretched out a bit in the passenger seat. Turning her head slowly in his direction, a soft smile lifted over her lips as she reached out to him casually, her hand brushing up against his knee as she spoke up softly, "You're here."  
  
  
"I told you I would be and we're almost there," Chris promised dropping his hand off of the steering wheel and placing it over hers in a tender squeeze as he turned off the dirt road he'd been on for quite some time.  
  
  
  
Eve yawned again before perking up a bit in her chair, "Where are we?"  
  
  
"Somewhere safe," he assured her seeing the confusion in her features as she rubbed at her neck for a moment. "Feeling stiff?"  
  
  
"That's one way of looking at it," she nodded in response noticing the small house before her, "Chris, where are we?"  
  
  
"I like to call this my home away from home," he saw the strange expression that crossed over her features before he added, "Trust me."  
  
  
"I do," she confessed solemnly, "Don't you know by now you're the only one I trust?"  
  
  
"I'm glad you feel that way," he whispered in response pulling into the drive before putting the car into park, "although I will warn you that this isn't the penthouse by any means."  
  
  
"It's not what I expected from you, but sometimes change is good," she offered meekly as she sank back into the chair, "Though I must confess I didn't exactly imagine this from you."  
  
  
"Just wait until you get inside. You'll love it," Chris promised getting out of the car and moving around to open her door for her. Before she could protest, he leaned forward unbuckling her seatbelt before pulling her out of the car and into his arms.  
  
  
  
"Chris, I think I'm perfectly capable of walking," Eve began to argue with him.  
  
  
  
"Save your strength for later," he suggested holding her closer against him as he felt the warmth of her in his arms.  
  
  
  
"That almost sounds like something I should be worried about," she couldn't help but tease as he carried her to the door.  
  
  
  
"Only if you're afraid of indulging in too much pleasure," Chris winked back at her clumsily placing his keys into the lock.  
  
  
  
"Please," Eve couldn't repress the smile that built at the back of her throat, "Don't do this to me…don't make me laugh."  
  
  
"You find that funny," Chris shook his head at her making a tsking sound as he carried her into the house.  
  
  
  
"As a matter of fact I do," she nodded in response unable to control herself.  
  
  
  
"We'll see who's laughing when I have my way with you," Chris promised pushing the door shut with his butt before carrying her further into the small cozy place. He shifted her in his arms, bringing her down on the sofa as she smiled up at him.  
  
  
  
"You're too cute," Eve reached out to touch his face, "You know that, don't you?"  
  
  
"I'd like to think of a few other adjectives that describe me more than cute," he winked down at her, "Like maybe sexy, dashing, the man of your dreams…"  
  
  
"Oh I've dreamt about you," she couldn't help but laugh, "but probably not the way you're thinking."  
  
  
"Hey your dreaming about me is a good start," he knelt down beside her touching her cheek gently, "It means I've been in your subconscious there."  
  
  
"For longer than I would've liked," Eve leaned in towards him, eyes focusing on his lips as she closed her eyes and let out a slow sigh.  
  
"Care to talk about it?" Chris suggested finding himself drawn to her despite the ordeal they'd just been through with one another. Somehow in being this close to her, in having her around him like this, it turned his life upside-down and he never wanted to let go again.  
  
  
  
"Are you sure my talking it out is where you want to start this," she asked in a soft, sensual tone as her eyes fluttered open and her lips parted in anticipation.  
  
  
  
"Well I always did have a way with things beyond mere words," he confessed tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he inched in towards her.  
  
  
  
"That you did," she nodded in response thinking about the martini nights, the moments they'd bonded in the past and in that instant her warm and cozy thoughts of Chris were replaced by the darker times she'd had over the last few months as she turned away from him.  
  
  
  
"Eve?" he questioned uncertain as he'd thought she'd wanted to kiss him, but in her turning away, he was convinced that something was happening, something more than he'd anticipated, "Are you okay? Do you need something for pain?"  
  
  
"Pills won't make this go away…" she sighed painfully thinking of all she'd lost, "at least not in my head. Even shock therapy might not do the trick," she offered with a sad smile.   
  
  
  
"Then why don't you tell me? Eve, what really happened to you," he reached for her hand, "I need to know…"  
  
  
"Chris, it's just so…" Eve began nervously, "I don't know where to start…"  
  
  
"How about from what happened after the accident," he suggested gently, "Tell me how you were able to make it out of that crash alive when we all thought you'd died?"  
  
  
"Crash?" she gave him a strange look, "Chris, what are you talking about?"  
  
  
"Eve, you were in a car accident on the bridge over a year ago and…" Chris began to explain.  
  
  
  
"No, Chris you don't understand," she shook her head in response, "I wasn't in a car accident."  
  
  
"Yes you were. We all were told you were dead and then…"  
  
  
"Chris, listen to me," Eve reached for his hand offering up a tight hold on it, "I was never in any car accident. Back when DV was around, he paid your father to get rid of me. Your father had me held captive from the time DV was in town…"  
  
  
"What?" Chris blinked back in response, "No that can't be."  
  
  
"Chris, it's true," Eve tried to explain, "Do you remember when we were living together? When Kevin and I separated and you took me in?"  
  
  
"Of course I remember that," Chris paused a frown teasing over his lips, "I never forgot that even though you seemed to forget."  
  
  
"Chris, I didn't forget," Eve brushed her finger tips against his hand, "I don't forget any of that…and I mean any of it…"  
  
  
"But Eve," his jaw dropped as he gave her a sideways glance, "what are you saying?"  
  
  
"Chris, do you remember the night we…" she paused struggling with the words as she shifted herself uneasily on the couch as a color rose through her cheeks.  
  
  
  
"Made love?" he finished as her dark eyes rose up towards his, her cheeks a pale pink as she nodded in response.  
  
  
  
"Yes, the night we made love," she found the words as she saw the same passion reflected behind his dark eyes, "Chris, I lied to you back then. I lead you to believe that Kevin and I split because he'd cheated on me, but…"  
  
  
"But it was all an act," Chris nodded in response, "You told me that after you and Kevin got back together. Here I was hating the guy for hurting you, but then you and I made love and I thought it was fate giving me that second chance at happiness with you, but then in the end I wound up further away from you than I'd ever been."  
  
  
"Chris, that's just it," she started tearfully, "DV knew Kevin and I were pretending and that it was part of some plan to get him…the only thing he and I didn't plan on was what happened between you and me."  
  
  
"Eve, look you don't have to talk about that now considering that…" he offered tearing his eyes away from her.  
  
  
  
"But I do. Chris, you don't understand. That was never a part of the plan, but when I made love with you, well it did something to me," she reached for his hand bringing it over her heart, "Chris, please look at me…"  
  
  
"Eve, you don't know what you're asking," he inhaled slowly wondering if he could find himself lost in her eyes like he had before. Could he face her and keep from revealing everything that had haunted him for so very long without her? Suddenly thinking about the time he'd spent in the world thinking she'd been taken from him, he forced himself to face his fears and look at her--really look at her and when he saw what he'd missed out on for so long, his heart ached to hold her, to protect her and keep her safe from the evils that had fallen upon her.  
  
  
  
"Chris, that night when we were together," she confessed tearfully, "It changed our relationship in so many ways and it made me question so many things in my life. Time and time again I kept telling myself that we were just friends, that we were just comforting one another life friends who'd kicked back one too many martinis would, but then well, since then I couldn't stop thinking about that night. I couldn't help but remember what it felt like when you touched me…when you held me in your arms and told me that you'd always love me. That night, oh God Chris you have no idea how many times that night has played in my memory as it was all I had to hold on to for so very long…"  
  
  
"Then why didn't you say anything about it?" he asked in confusion, "Never once did you bring it up after it happened…"  
  
  
"That's because I didn't have the chance," she explained sadly, "The morning after we made love, you rushed out of the apartment no doubt not wanting to face what we shared the night before and I didn't know what to do with myself. I was confused and questioning everything, but when you weren't there, I thought maybe you'd decided it was a mistake--that we crossed a line we weren't meant to and I tried to put it out of my head. I was in the middle of getting ready for work--ready to go talk to Kevin about things when someone was at the door. I heard the jingling of keys and I thought, well I thought that it was you--that you'd forgotten something or that you'd wanted to talk about what happened between us, but when I went into the living room, well Henry was there. I didn't know who he was at the time, but when he identified himself, I didn't buy it for a second. I tried to get him out of the apartment, but when I turned my back to him…" she trailed off.  
  
  
  
"Eve, what happened?"  
  
  
"Chris, I don't know how I let him get the best of me, but he did…I was calling for security and then the next minute, I woke up in some place…somewhere I'd never been before and I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what was going on, but shortly after Henry came to me. He told me that DV had hired him to take care of the woman in your life…that he hadn't been expecting someone like me, but once he'd brought me with him, well he was sure he could do the job at hand…"  
  
  
"Eve," he whispered her name watching as she sat up straighter on the couch curling her legs up into her chest as tears fell down her face.  
  
  
  
"Chris, when DV was hospitalized he and Henry lost contact with one another, but he wouldn't let me go…" Eve trailed off in between sobs, "I begged him to release me, to just let me get back to the life I'd had before…that somehow I'd pretend that he didn't have me, but he said DV took care of the situation once he'd discovered I was the one who Henry picked up. He made sure I wouldn't be missed and that I wouldn't be needed anymore…"  
  
  
"Are you saying that my father held you hostage all this time?" Chris questioned in horror as she hugged her legs to her body tighter.  
  
  
  
"He did what DV asked of him, but then when the money stopped coming in from DV, he did what he wanted and well, he decided he'd found something else to give him what he needed to fund his lifestyle," Eve sobbed in horror as Chris reached out to her cradling her in his arms.  
  
  
  
"Oh God, what did he do to you Eve?" he questioned afraid to hear the answer as his heart broke at the thought of what she must've endured at his father's hand. Suddenly an anger filled him up inside as he feared the worst as her injuries were proof of the obvious abuse Henry had put her through.  
  
  
  
"He…he…oh God, Chris, it doesn't matter what he did to me," Eve sobbed into his chest, "None of that matters right now because I'm safe, but I can't say the same for our little girl. Chris, we need to help her…She's in danger…"  
  
  
"Eve, what are you saying?" he urged her to look up at him as her eyes were clouded with tears, "Eve, what little girl?"  
  
  
"Our daughter," Eve blurted out painfully, "Chris, the night you found me it wasn't because I was able to escape. It was because Henry had been drugging me for months and that night he chose to dump my body off and leave me for dead while he ran away with our little girl…"  
  
  
"Little girl?" he repeated in confusion as suddenly flashes of the night they'd shared with one another came back into his mind, "Eve, are you saying…"  
  
  
"That night we made love, well, I found out after I was kidnapped that I was pregnant…with our daughter and Henry has her. If we don't find her soon, then there's no telling what he'll do to her…" she confessed breaking down in his arms as Chris realized that suddenly there was a whole other element to this story that he hadn't imagined possible. Now as he held Eve in his arms, he just prayed that somehow they could find a way to make things right.  
  
  
  
"We have to find her, Chris," Eve pleaded with him unable to contain the tears that overcame her.  
  
  
  
"We will," he tried to assure her as he was faced with the news that he was not only a father, but that his child was in the hands of a monster like Henry Ramsey--the man who made Chris's childhood a living nightmare. 


	3. Chapter 5

"Drink this," Chris urged offering up a steaming mug of tea to Eve as she looked up at him behind puffy blood shot eyes.  
  
  
  
"What is it?" Eve questioned wearily exhaustion taking over her as she and Chris were continuing to rehash the nightmare she'd been stuck in for the last couple of years.  
  
  
  
"It's something that will calm your nerves," he promised taking a seat at the opposite end of the couch as he pulled her legs into his lap, bringing his hands over her bare feet massaging them gently as he looked to her, "Eve, you have to tell me more about your time with Henry."  
  
  
"I know," she winced at the thought, "but right now, well now I just can't help but focus on our daughter. I mean she's out there with him…all on her own and I can't protect her."  
  
  
"Eve, we need to talk about this…really talk about everything that lead up to what happened…" Chris rubbed his hand over the curve of her foot trying to relax her a bit as he took everything in, "tell me again about how things happened."  
  
  
"I told you when you were gone, he showed up and then I woke up in this place--this house that DV had set up for us. At the time I was confused and it didn't make sense, but then when I realized where I was and who I was with, I knew I needed to escape. DV was paying Henry to keep me locked away, but then when Henry found out I was pregnant, well he figured out he'd had his next cash crop with our baby. Knowing my history and that more than likely you were the child's father, he and DV had some tests run which proved what I knew to be true."  
  
  
"That the baby you were carrying was ours," Chris reasoned as she offered a tiny nod.  
  
  
  
"Who knew that one night could make such a difference in our lives, huh?" she replied sadly, "Even then I couldn't believe how much had happened after that one night. Months went by and DV stopped contacting Henry and when he found out that DV was out of the picture, he started with his own agenda going on and on about how you owed him for walking away. He'd kept an eye on you and took pleasure in telling me time and time again that you hadn't given a second thought to my absence as the woman that had taken my place had convinced you that she was me and that I could care less about you."  
  
  
"Eve, that's not true," Chris moved in closer to her, pulling her into his arms as he found himself unable to resist the urge to hold her, to be near her at a moment like this when she was revealing the agony that had surrounded her. Holding her completely in his arms, he shifted her in his lap as his dark eyes sought out hers wanting to show her the depths of his love for her, "Yes, I thought she was you. I truly believed that you'd moved on and that you have no interest in revisiting that place we'd gone to with one another after we'd made love. After that night, you seemed so distant, so off limits in your own way and I found myself trying to deal with the twist of fate--pretending that it didn't break my heart to see you with Kevin and then Ian…"  
  
  
"Ian?" she gave him a strange look, "Who's Ian?"  
  
  
"He's some loser that you…" he paused before frowning again, "she married. She was so miserable and he promised her the world, but in the end she was more alone than I'd ever seen you…her… She died before I could ever truly tell her that I loved her--you."  
  
  
"Oh Chris, I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Eve touched his face gently attempting to comfort him when he'd clearly hoped of providing her with some kind of relief. Still, after all this time in having her close to him, it set his soul at ease as he leaned into his touch, turning to press a kiss into her hand.  
  
  
  
"Eve, I missed you so very much," he admitted openly as his eyes fell upon her, "I loved you more than I could even begin to explain and when I thought I lost you…oh Eve you have no idea how many times I tried to reach out to you, but time and time again it seemed as though something kept you from seeing me--really seeing who I was--from seeing the man who loved you for so very long…the man who still loves you so very much."  
  
  
"Oh Chris," Eve breathed wrapping her arms around him as she held him close to her, "I missed you so much. Time and time again you were all that I could think about…all that I could imagine and I lived for the day that we'd be together again like this holding one another and lost in one another's touch."  
  
  
"Eve," he started feeling so many things going through his mind as she held him.  
  
  
  
"Chris, I know that I wasn't always good at telling you how I felt about you, but after we made love, well I knew that I'd missed out on the one thing in my life that I'd always wanted before that moment. When we were together, well it was the first time in my life that I didn't have to pretend. I didn't have to be someone I'm not and I could just love you…just be with you and you wanted me for me…not for what you thought you could turn me into. When we made love, you and I, we felt so very right and after that night my life has never been the same."  
  
  
"Because of our daughter," Chris questioned after a moment's hesitation.  
  
  
  
"It's more than our daughter," Eve argued with him as her eyes sparkled with something Chris couldn't quite place, "I mean sure having her was a miracle in itself considering all it took was one magical night for her to come into this world, but it was more than that. Chris, no man has ever loved me like you have and no one else has been worth fighting for until now. When I had our baby girl, oh Chris, she looked so much like you. When I held her for the first time, I knew that we'd finally found that piece of heaven that had been out of our lives for so many years. She was so perfect and amazing and…"  
  
  
"Eve, what's her name? When was she born? I wish I'd known about her--about you as I would've fought like hell to find you," Chris confessed thinking of the years that had been taken from them.  
  
  
  
"Her name is Sarah and she's beautiful. She was born on June third in 2000. And she has the most beautiful hair about your color and the biggest brown eyes you can imagine as when she looks at you, you can see just how much she loves you. She has this smile that lights up the room when she's in it and when you tuck her into bed at night, well, she has this story that she loves you to read to her over and over again until she falls asleep. You have no idea how I wish we'd been able to have that together, but once we find her, Chris, I know we can start over again," Eve answered with a hint of hope in her voice, "I know that once we rescue her from Henry, then we can have that family we both needed in our lives for so very long."  
  
  
"Oh Eve, you have no idea how much I want to find her…to know all about our daughter as this changes everything you know," he eased his fingers through her dark hair gingerly.  
  
  
  
"I know," she confessed with a soft sigh, "I knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant that you and I would never be the same since our daughter came into our lives."  
  
  
  
"I've already missed so much of her life," Chris began sadly his heart breaking as he thought about the circumstances that had fallen upon them, "Eve, how could I not have known all this time?"  
  
  
"DV and Henry worked very hard to keep me from the world around me," Eve admitted sinking into him, "They locked me away and even after I had our daughter I lived in fear of Henry. Your father is an evil man, Chris and…"  
  
  
"I know," he nodded seeing the tears that clouded her eyes once again, "Eve, you don't have to tell me this right now if it hurts too much."  
  
  
"Chris, I tried to escape. You have to understand. Time and time again I fought for a way to get Sarah and I out of there, but he was just too strong…too…"  
  
  
"Eve, when was the last time you saw Sarah," Chris tried to get her to focus as his eyes searched hers, "Where were you two?"  
  
  
"Her nanny came over. Henry said he wanted to go out…that he'd had special plans for the two of us and her nanny stopped by to watch her. I'd begged her to do whatever she could to save Sarah. I gave her some money that I'd managed to put aside over the years when Henry wasn't paying attention. She promised me that Sarah would be safe, but then when Henry tried to kill me…"  
  
  
"Eve, how is it he managed to do all this for so long without anyone knowing?" Chris questioned painfully unsure of how his father could gain so much leverage over her.  
  
  
  
"He told me that if I tried to run--if I tried to find you that he'd make sure that you would suffer for it. He had evidence that you'd shot DV and he swore to me that you'd get the death penalty should I try to leave him. He vowed that you and Sarah would suffer if I was out of line and I was terrified…Chris after all the things he did," she looked to the ground, "The ways he forced me to bend at his will…"  
  
  
"Eve, he didn't…" Chris began as he saw the tears spilling down her face, "Oh God, he did, didn't he?"  
  
  
"Chris, I didn't have a choice," Eve sobbed choking on her tears, "He hung his ammunition over my head and if I didn't comply to his wishes, then he kept Sarah from me. He'd do things…say things and then act upon them until I had no choice…"  
  
  
"Oh Eve," he hugged her tightly feeling her pain transfer onto him, "How could I not have been there? How could I not have felt you in so much pain?"  
  
  
"It wasn't your fault," Eve held onto him allowing herself to shed the tears she'd fought like hell to keep Henry from seeing time and time again when he'd hurt her, "When he touched me, I tried to pretend I wasn't there…that it wasn't me and that I was somewhere else…somewhere with you and Sarah and we were a family and we were safe. We were in a place where Henry couldn't touch us ever again and it was those thoughts of you that got me through the darkest hours."  
  
  
"He had no right to touch you like that," Chris's jaw clenched in anger, "He had no business hurting you or Sarah."  
  
  
"Chris, I'm free now and we have to find Sarah," Eve explained desperately, "When we have her again only then will Henry be out of our lives."  
  
  
"He's going to pay for this," Chris declared feeling his anger surge through him at the thought of what his father had done to the woman he loved, "I'm not going to let him get away with this."  
  
  
"Chris, all I care about is finding our daughter. Nothing else matters but having her and being with you…"  
  
  
"Henry's not going to get away with any of this Eve," he cupped her face in his hands kissing her tenderly, "I promise you that."  
  
  
She kissed him in response tasting the sweetness of his lips as her arms curled around him, "I believe you, Chris. I know we can find our daughter and be happy with one another."  
  
  
"That's all I've ever wanted for us," Chris confessed squeezing her against him as his kisses grew in intensity. His fingers fanned out over her spine as he cupped her against him relishing in the feel of her against him as she shifted in his lap. His tongue tasted and teased hers as her swelled lips parted inviting him to sample more of her as a slow whimper rose from deep inside her causing her to tremble as the moment expanded between them.   
  
  
"Chris," she cried out his name feeling his hands upon her hips as their eyes connected and his breath caught in his throat as he looked to her seeing the desire burning behind her eyes. Her fingers curled into his hair drawing him in against her as the warmth of her body, ignited the passion that had lay dormant inside of him for so very long in her absence, "I need you…"  
  
  
"Eve," he turned her in his arms laying her back on the sofa as his body covered hers melding into her as he could feel the rapid beating of her heart beneath his. Her kisses intoxicated him, reaching deep into his core as his palm eased up over her soft curves remembering how she'd managed to make him feel so very alive time and time again in the past. Her fingers pressed in over the center of his chest tugging at the material of his shirt as their eyes connected once again and she spoke up in a low, throaty whisper.  
  
  
  
"Make love to me, Chris," she pleaded with him as her hands dipped down over his waist easing the material of his shirt up over his body, "please…"  
  
  
"Eve, you have no idea how long I've waited to be able to hold you like this again," he confessed slipping out of his shirt before closing in on her once more as his heart flooded with love for her, "I've missed you so very much and I've needed you for so long…"  
  
  
"I dreamt about what it would be like to be near you again…to taste you and drink you in like I did the night we came together before," she offered up in a sultry tone as his fingers tapered off over the edge of the scrubs he'd had her get dressed in when they'd left the hospital earlier, "Now that I've found you, I don't ever want to let go of that…"  
  
  
"Eve, I just…I don't want to rush you," Chris whispered over her lips thinking of all she'd been through because of his father. The thought made him shudder as he imagined Henry taking advantage of Eve, forcing her to bend at his will for his own sadistic pleasure as he taunted her with the threat of his freedom and Sarah's life. Instantly his body tightened as he pulled away from the kiss. "Eve, I can't do this now knowing how much you suffered because of me…"  
  
  
"Chris, it was because of you that I'm still alive," she leaned up into him capturing his lips in another kiss, "When he started drugging me, well I tried to fight him, but then when he dumped my body…Chris, I thought I'd reached the end, but there you were like my guardian angel bringing my back to life…back to believing that miracles can happen and here you are," her fingers eased over the warm, muscular planes of his chest, "I can feel you…really feel you and I'm so afraid if I don't touch you, don't lose myself in you that this will be nothing more than a dream and I'll close my eyes for a second and it'll all end…that my life will return to what it was when Henry left me to die…please…Chris, don't make me go back to that."  
  
  
"Eve, it's just," he paused memorizing her beautiful features as his hand eased over her soft skin memorizing every inch of her as his heart filled with love for her. Suddenly all the time he'd spent without her seemed irrelevant as in having her in his arms once again made life worth living. All the nonsense that had gone on in Port Charles was nothing more than a blip in the back of his mind as in his arms he held the most wonderful woman in the world. She'd come back to his life and that in itself was reason to hold on to her with all he had. He'd finally found a reason to keep going on and as he gazed down at her, bringing his finger tip over the center of her lush lips as she pressed a tiny kiss upon him, he realized that tonight was about starting over--about making up for the mistakes that had driven them away from one another.  
  
  
  
"Chris please…" she breathed heatedly against his touch, "Tonight I want to be lost in your arms, wrapped up in the safety of your love…"  
  
  
"I want to love you so much," he leaned down kissing her tenderly, "but this time, well this time, let's do this the right way," he decided reluctantly moving off of her before bending down and scooping her up into his arms as he carried her into one of the bedrooms.   
  
  
  
Feeling the wild racing of his heart as he set her down on the bed before him, his eyes feasted upon her as he realized that this was the moment he'd waited a lifetime for. To feel her again and hold her and prove to her that she was the only woman in his life had been a dream that time and time again had haunted him from the moment he'd thought he'd lost her. Tonight he was going to put those dreams to life as he vowed to give his all to the only woman who'd ever truly touched his heart. Leaning in over her, he captured her lips in a soft, tender kiss before his finger tips teased in over the soft lines of her body hidden beneath the thin top she'd been wearing. Even after all the obvious abuse she'd taken, she still managed to excite him in ways he couldn't even begin to explain.   
  
  
  
Chris eased the shirt up over her stomach, carefully revealing her soft skin to him as he bent down, drawing his lips over her abdomen as he traced patterns over her skin with mouth trying to memorize every inch of her. His hands bunched up the fabric of the top she'd been wearing as he felt her nails slide over his shoulder in a tantalizing motion.   
  
A gasp spilled over Eve as his mouth moved over her breastbone tasting her silken curves as she arched up towards him allowing him to discard the shirt revealing her completely to his hungry eyes. Her arms fell to her sides as Chris watched her chest rise and fall in anticipation of his touch, but instead of reaching out and exploring her newly exposed skin, he collected her in his arms, crashing his mouth against hers in a hungry kiss as the heat of her body struck up against his causing his body to ignite with a frantic need as they sank back into the pillow beneath her.  
  
  
  
"I love you," he whispered tenderly feeling her fingers slide through his hair as their kiss ended and he remained a breath away from her gazing down into her dark eyes, "I've always loved you, Eve."  
  
  
"I love you," she confessed in a soft tone as her heart beat with his in the same rhythm of love that had surrounded them the first time they'd given into passion with one another, "I was a fool to believe that I could go through this life without embracing that with you. You are everything I ever dreamt of and more, Chris."  
  
  
"Oh Eve," he captured her mouth again unable to contain himself as their kisses grew in intensity. His hands searched and explored every irresistible inch of her as he palmed her breast in his hand, loving the sounds of her pleasure rising with each skilled caress he'd made over her excited skin. How he could've imagined living a life without such exquisite pleasures was beyond his comprehension as his lips dropped down over her body, tasting her fullness as he cupped her body up to his eager kisses.   
  
  
  
Eve cried out as her fingers sank into the bed, bunching up the fabric of the blankets beneath her as his tongue swept over her aching peak again and again as her need expanded with each torturous movement of his mouth over her. Her head dropped back as he turned his attention to the unattended mound lavishing it with the same teasing touch as her body ached for release.  
  
  
  
"Chris," she cried out his name pinching the blanket between her fingers until she found herself unable to contain the passion he'd awakened in her. Her arms wrapped around his body, easing over his spine as she offered herself to him more completely. He accepted her invitation to explore her body as his mouth tapered off over her breastbone once more, teasing over her naval before his finger tips slipped in beneath the loose fitting pants she'd been wearing.   
  
  
  
With one quick tug, Eve felt the cool air press down upon her as the vulnerability of the moment over her. Chris had eased down to the bottom of the bed, taking the remainder of clothing she'd been wearing with him as his eyes fell upon her, feasting upon every alluring inch of her. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she watched him unbuckle his belt before shedding his pants and boxers as he revealed himself to her once more. Suddenly all her dreams and memories about their one night together paled in comparison to what she was feeling in a moment like this as he stood before her in his naked perfection. Crawling up on her knees, she moved to the edge of the bed, reaching out to touch him, to gently stroke his length as her lips placed butterfly kisses upon his aching need for her.  
  
  
  
"Eve," he sucked in a sharp breath feeling her breath upon him as his need for her intensified as she continued to caress his hardened length, "baby…"  
  
  
"I need you, Chris," she murmured against him as his fingers dipped into her hair drawing her up on her knees completely before his mouth collected a hungry kiss from her. Wrapping her up in his arms as they tumbled back onto the bed, his body covered hers, sparks igniting at the feel of the skin to skin contact between them as her leg brushed up against his thigh urging them toward completion as their eyes connected once more.  
  
  
  
"Eve, I love you so much," he whispered nibbling on her lower lip as she wrapped her legs around him inviting him to be one with her after so very long. Even now as the warmth of her surrounded him, the moment felt surreal as he'd long ago lost sight of such magnificent dreams of her, but as he slowly pressed himself inside of her, burying himself in her erotic heat, a soft groan spilled over his lips as the reality of their union pressed upon them.  
  
  
  
"Chris," she cried out his name sinking her nails into his excited flesh as her head arched back in pleasure as she accepted him fully within her warmth. He buried himself deep within her, stilling himself as he fought to stay in control, but as his eyes found hers, he realized there would be no controlling the way she'd effected him as he withdrew from her body, crashing home again as they were together as one. Her legs tightened around him, urging him to stay with her as another soft whimper burst from her parted lips.  
  
  
  
"I love you," he groaned capturing her soft cries of passion as they delved into pleasure with one another, reminding themselves over and over again of the love that had slipped away from them the first time around. Now as he held her, sank into her making love to her with all that he had, he realized that he'd never be able to be without her again. He'd never known a love as pure and real as the one he'd found inside of her. Suddenly as her world spiraled out of control, Chris was carried away with her, thrusting one last time as he lost himself to the magic of the moment their union had given them and it was in that instant as he kissed her, held her in his arms as her tremors of passion died down, that he realized he'd never be complete again without her.  
  
  
  
"I love you," she breathed in slow, shallow pants as her legs and arms surrounded him refusing to let go of the union between them as he remained inside of her holding onto her as if he'd never let go.  
  
  
  
"Eve, I promise you that I'm always going to love you," he whispered as his lips pressed over her forehead, down to her cheekbones, to the tip of her nose before collecting her mouth in a tender kiss. Slowly he rolled onto his back taking her with him as he held her in his arms thinking about the love they'd made with one another and it was in that instant he found a sense of inner peace and as she hugged him tightly drifting off to sleep in his arms, he promised himself that he'd find a way to make things right for their family at any cost as in having Eve back with him, life was worth fighting for again and this time, he wouldn't back down from the challenge that Henry Ramsey had provided him with. Now as his gaze drifted down to Eve as her eyelashes fluttered in her sleep, he vowed that he'd find a way to make her feel safe again. Henry would pay and then he'd do everything in his power to make Eve and Sarah's life the best it could be. That much he was sure of. 


	4. Chapter 6

Sunlight crept in from the world outside as Chris felt himself shift beneath the blankets. Suddenly as his mind registered the warmth beside him, his eyes opened and he found Eve draped around him, her head nestled on his chest as her arm hugged his abdomen. Her dark hair with it's auburn highlights spilled out over his body and tickled upon his skin as she snuggled more completely into him curling up as he held her. Unable to resist the urge that had taken control of him as he realized this was no longer one of the dreams that had haunted him since he'd lost her, he kissed the top of her head feeling a tiny breath escape her lips as she repositioned herself beside him.  
  
  
  
"Oh Eve," he whispered her name mesmerized by her beauty as he held her, as he felt her alive and safe in his arms and it was in that instant that his heart sank at the thought of what she'd endured over the last few years. It was in that instant that the reality of the situation hit him hard.   
  
  
  
While Chris had been thanking his lucky stars that his dream girl had been returned to him alive and so very real, he'd forgotten for the night the pain and suffering she'd endured to be with him. It seemed unfair that after all they'd gone through, she'd had to be subjected to so many horrors from the man who'd worked so hard to make Chris miserable growing up. Flashes of his childhood pressed over him as a shudder involuntarily spilled over his shoulders. Time and time again he tried to pretend that those years hadn't happened, that the pain that had alienated him from his brother wouldn't find a way to creep back into his life, but now as his eyes fell upon the woman he loved more than life itself, he realized that Henry had found a way to taint that part of his life as well. He'd found a way to take something so beautiful and exploit it for his own gain and as Chris felt his arm squeeze Eve closer to him, his heart ached for all the ways in which he'd failed her in her absence.  
  
  
  
As if sensing his discontent, Eve's eyelashes slowly fluttered as her dark eyes turned up towards his and a hint of a smile crept in over her beautiful features, "Good morning…" she mused rubbing her palm over the center of the hair dusted muscle that lined his chest, "I was starting to think I'd died and gone to heaven there."  
  
  
"On the contrary," Chris eased her chin up towards his as he pulled her more completely onto him, "heaven is here on earth for us in this moment with one another."  
  
  
Eve's smile grew as she tipped down to kiss him tenderly, "I've never felt more alive than I do when I'm wrapped up in your arms like this."  
  
  
"I wish I could always make you feel this safe and protected," Chris offered up poignantly, "I wish that I had been able to spare you the hell you went through."  
  
  
"Chris, in being able to have a second chance with you, I know that somehow this was fate trying to tell us that we can beat the odds," she began as she nestled her head upon his shoulder holding him as if she'd never let go, "I know that together we can find a way to stop the past from destroying us."  
  
  
"In finding our daughter and eliminating Henry from our lives," Chris sighed thinking about their missing daughter, "Eve, I'm so afraid of what he could be doing right now to our little girl. When I think of what he did to you to spite me…"  
  
  
"Chris, don't," Eve pressed her fingers over the center of his lips to silence him, "please don't dwell on what happened to me. Right now we need to focus on what matters and that's our little girl. She's our top priority and the sooner we start working on finding her, the better her chances will be."  
  
  
"I know that Eve, but when I think of what that man did to you…the ways in which he hurt you…" his voice trailed off as an anger filled him down to the core, "he had no right to do any of this…"  
  
  
"Chris, please don't," Eve rolled off of him pulling the blanket up over her naked form as she looked to the window at the far end of the room, "Don't get lost in that when it's not important."  
  
  
"Eve, it is important," he sat upright reaching out to her as his fingers pressed in over her shoulder, "No man should ever put you in a position where you have to bend to his bidding…especially not a man like my father. When I think of the things he's done to you…"  
  
  
"Chris, your father isn't the first man to take my body like that," Eve glanced over her shoulder at him as a sadness filled her eyes, "what he did to my body was nothing compared to what I know he'll do to our daughter if we don't find her. I've dealt with men like that in the past and while I'm not proud of that, the fact remains that I'll survive. I always do, but Sarah, Chris, she's only a child…she can't protect herself from a man like Henry…" she broke down into tears once more thinking about the daughter she'd left behind when Henry tried to end her life, "Chris, the longer he has her, the more danger she's in…"  
  
  
"We'll find her baby," he promised hugging her against him as she sank back into his chest overcome by tears, "and when we do, I swear to you that he'll never hurt you or Sarah ever again. This time Henry won't get away with the things he's done," he vowed tension laced in his tone.  
  
  
  
"All I want is my daughter back. I want to find her and for us to have a family like we always should've had…" she cried as she curled her arm around him allowing him to hold her more completely as her tears broke his heart.  
  
  
  
"We'll have that Eve. One way or another I swear to you that we'll find a way to make it happen," he promised wondering just what it would take to be one step ahead of his father after all this time. While he'd hoped that Henry Ramsey would be a thing of the past--a memory that he could lock away forever, he knew now that he'd been wrong to underestimate Henry's evil and there would be only one way to stop him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Eve stepped out of the shower stall reaching for the towel that hung up on the wall beside her as she quickly began to dry off. Wrapping the bath towel around her body hastily, she tried to force the thoughts of the last few years out of her life. Somehow she'd never imagined that she'd be away from it all--that she'd have a second chance at life, but when she reflected on the night she'd spent in Chris's arms, having him make love with her, having him hold her through the night, she found her nightmares had faded and almost all but died down as in his arms she found a certain sense of serenity. Now all she could pray for was the safe return of her daughter.  
  
  
  
Wiping at the steam that splayed over the mirror before her, Eve caught a look at her own frail looking reflection and she felt a shudder press over her. Not long ago, she'd been so full of spunk--full of a zest for life until DV had come to town threatening her existence. Never in the picture did she imagine that a man like Henry Ramsey would trample into her life when she had so much ahead of her. Her fake break up with Kevin had been one thing until she'd found herself experiencing another side of herself with Chris. In their short time being reunited back then, she found herself facing the possibility of what a life with Chris Ramsey could mean, but before she could truly embrace what was happening between them, Henry had ripped her away from the life she'd started to love. He tore her away from the one thing that had finally brought her peace and now as she stood before the mirror starting at the woman she'd become, she could feel herself back in that horrible place Henry had kept her tucked away from the rest of the world in.  
  
  
  
"You'll never escape me," his voice echoed in her head sending chills down her spine as she could feel his clammy touch upon her, "As long as you live and breath, I own you. You're mine…"   
  
  
  
"No," she cried out sending her fist into the mirror as she was brought back to the reality she'd found herself in. She was safe now. She had Chris in her life and soon they'd find a way to save Sarah. They had to because she couldn't accept any less. Her daughter's life meant more than anything and with Chris by her side, they had to find a way to bring their daughter home safely. Too much was riding on that very thing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chris paced the living room area wondering what was taking so long as he looked to the bathroom door. While he was certain he'd heard the shower water stop quite some time ago, he wasn't going to rush Eve as he knew she'd needed her space. Despite her words about staying strong and not wanting to think about what Henry had done to her, Chris knew better than to discard what had taken place. She'd been hurt in a horrible way--having had her life and her freedom, not to mention their daughter ripped away from her and now would be about finding a way to repair the damage that had been done. Certainly they would do their best to bring Sarah home, but as he thought to the look of sadness in Eve's eyes when she spoke of the past, he wondered if there would ever truly be a way to heal the emotional scars Henry had placed upon her.  
  
  
  
As Chris stood beside himself with worry, he heard a knock at the front door alerting him to the reason he'd encouraged Eve to take a shower and relax on her own. While he'd wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and protect her through the morning, he knew that the force he'd need in taking on Henry couldn't happen on his own. As much as Chris Ramsey hated to ask for help, he had no choice but to bring in someone who he was certain would dread this as much as he had. Opening the door, he took in a long breath as he saw his younger brother standing before him with confused eyes.  
  
  
  
"Chris, what's wrong?" Jack questioned entering the small room, "When Elizabeth was at the wedding and you weren't there with her, I was worried because she'd said you found your wife and…" he paused looking around the room for a moment, "Chris, did you find Julie?"  
  
  
"No," Chris shook his head quickly before drawing in a breath, "This has nothing to do with Julie, though I can guarantee that this might be a little hard for you to digest here."  
  
  
"Chris, what is it? What kind of trouble are you in now?" Jack's eyes washed over with concern, "What's happened?"  
  
  
"Jack, this is going to sound crazy, but you have to believe me," Chris began inhaling a slow, nervous breath.  
  
  
  
"Isn't that supposed to be my line," Jack offered with a half smile trying to lighten the mood before adding, "Chris, after everything that's happened over the last couple years, I think I'm just about ready to believe anything you have to say, so go ahead and lay it on me."  
  
  
"Jack, there's no easy way to put this," Chris rubbed his hands together wearily as he looked to the bathroom door once again.  
  
  
  
"Chris, is someone in there," Jack questioned noting the direction his brother's eyes traveled in.  
  
  
  
"Yes," Chris nodded quickly.  
  
  
  
"The woman Elizabeth was talking about?"  
  
  
"Yes," Chris answered again.  
  
  
  
"Who is she? Chris, what's going on?" Jack asked again noting his brother's cryptic stance, "Are you in some kind of trouble?"  
  
  
"Not in the ways your thinking," Chris explained as a sigh spilled over his lips, "Jack, our father has struck again."  
  
  
"Come again?" Jack blinked back at him, "Chris, don't tell me that woman you found has something to do with Henry?"  
  
  
"She does, but it's not like it sounds," Chris motioned to the couch, "Jack, you might want to sit down for this."  
  
  
"Chris, you're scaring me. This isn't like you to be so nervous about sharing something with me. What is it?"  
  
  
"Jack, it's just that Henry, well he…" Chris began as the bathroom door opened and Eve stepped out into the room.  
  
  
  
"Sorry for taking so long in there, but I just got a little wrapped up in," Eve started running the towel through her damp hair as her eyes fell upon their new visitor, "Who are you?" she asked wearily.  
  
  
  
"Eve?" Jack blinked back in surprise as he couldn't help but stare at her, "But how?"  
  
  
"Chris, what's going on?" Eve questioned turning to him with a look of panic upon her face.  
  
  
  
"I can explain," he motioned for her to join him and Jack as she wearily approached him. He turned to his brother noting the color that had drained from Jack's features.  
  
  
  
"I don't believe this," Jack blinked once, twice, three times as if his mind was playing tricks on him, "I mean sure I know what's been happening in Port Charles, but no one ever mentioned that it could be possible that you'd be back unless…" he paused as a confusion set in, "Does this have to do with Caleb somehow?"  
  
  
"Who?" Eve frowned in response.  
  
  
  
"This has nothing to do with Caleb," Chris reached out to Eve bringing his arm around her protectively, "but what it does involve is our father."  
  
  
"Chris, how is our father connected to Eve?" Jack demanded before looking to Eve again, "And how is she standing here before me?"  
  
  
"I can explain," Chris sighed realizing it was going to be a long morning as he focused on Eve, "Eve, I'd like you to meet my younger brother Jack."  
  
  
"Jack," Eve's face shifted as she forced a polite smile and she extended her hand, "Chris has told me so much about you…well at least he did a long time ago."  
  
  
"He did," Jack gave Chris a strange look as Chris offered up an explanation.  
  
  
  
"Jack, our father kidnapped Eve three years ago when he'd been hired by a man named David Bordiso," Chris frowned motioning to the couch once again, "maybe you should sit down for this."  
  
  
"This time I think I'm going to take your advice," Jack nodded in agreement as Chris urged Eve to follow him over to the love seat and he sat down with her.  
  
  
  
"You see a long time ago when I was working to help Julie, I was connected with a man…this Bordiso and somehow he managed to get our father involved in working with him," Chris explained with a heavy heart, "At the time Henry became a part of the equation Eve and I were living together…"  
  
  
"Okay, I knew that you two lived together, but what does this have to do with her being here now?" Jack threw out once again.  
  
  
  
"Jack, the woman you met in Port Charles wasn't Eve. She was someone that DV Bordiso sent to town to take her place because he and Henry wanted me to believe that Eve didn't care about me…that she wasn't the woman who'd been in Port Charles," Chris confessed painfully.  
  
  
  
"But why would he do that?" Jack shook his head in response, "I mean sure I understand why Henry would go to such lengths, but how could he pull something like that off and why?"  
  
  
"You'd be amazed at the things men like Henry and DV were capable of," Eve offered up breaking her long moment of silence, "When your brother and I were living together, well we'd both been going through some difficult times and well," she looked to the floor, "at the time we'd moved in with one another again, we…"  
  
  
"We were involved with one another," Chris finished for her as he reached for her hand squeezing it gently, "Eve and I were lovers and Henry discovered this. Not only did he find a way to help DV get Eve out of Port Charles undetected, but he also found a way to keep her captive for those years and he has our daughter."  
  
  
"What?" Jack's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
  
  
"I was pregnant when your father took me out of Port Charles," Eve confessed tearfully, "Chris and I were having a baby and Henry used to that his advantage over the years he'd kept me captive. He tried to kill me the night Chris found me as he'd had his fill of me…but with Sarah…" her hands trembled as Chris squeezed her fingers gently and he looked to his brother.  
  
  
  
"Jack, he's got our daughter and I have to find a way to get to him and get Sarah back," Chris pleaded with him as he pulled Eve into his arms holding her as her tears got the best of her, "You know how much Eve means to me and now knowing that I have a daughter…"  
  
  
"Chris, you don't have to say anything else," Jack interrupted quickly as he watched the exchange between Chris and Eve. "Whatever you need, I'm there for you."  
  
  
"I was hoping I could count on you little brother," Chris replied with a nod, "It's not going to be easy, but I think together we can find a way to stop Henry from hurting anyone else."  
  
  
"I don't know what I can do, but I'm willing to try. Anything to put that man in his place for the damage he's caused our family," Jack motioned to Eve as he reached out to her as well setting his hand on her knee supportively, "Chris and I are going to find Sarah and when we do that son of a bitch is going to pay."  
  
  
Eve nodded with a sniffle before mouthing the words, "Thank you."  
  
  
"Just tell me what you need Chris and I'm on it," Jack announced as anger surged through him at the thought of all the damage his father had inflicted upon their family over the years. When he looked back on the ways he and Chris had been alienated because of Henry Ramsey, he knew that anything else the man could do to torture the family would only result in devastation if he and Chris didn't band together. Even now as Jack had a great many questions about Eve's presence in the room, he realized that it was secondary to finding where Henry had Chris's daughter.  
  
  
  
"I need to know about mom," Chris explained as Eve's tears began to die down, "You need to tell me about where she was…how you located her and everything you know about what Henry did to her."  
  
  
"Chris, it was a while ago," Jack began thinking to the painful moments in his life that his father had brought upon him when he'd been forced to watch his mother's downward spiral.  
  
  
  
"I know it was, but it's all that we have and Jack, right now I need to know everything as there's so much riding on this," Chris insisted praying that somehow in hearing of what Jack experienced it would be the key to locating Sarah before it was too late. As his eyes fell upon Eve, he vowed to himself that he wouldn't allow Henry to take Sarah away from them as finding her was the most important thing. 


	5. Chapter 7

Sunlight crept in from the world outside as Chris felt himself shift beneath the blankets. Suddenly as his mind registered the warmth beside him, his eyes opened and he found Eve draped around him, her head nestled on his chest as her arm hugged his abdomen. Her dark hair with it's auburn highlights spilled out over his body and tickled upon his skin as she snuggled more completely into him curling up as he held her. Unable to resist the urge that had taken control of him as he realized this was no longer one of the dreams that had haunted him since he'd lost her, he kissed the top of her head feeling a tiny breath escape her lips as she repositioned herself beside him.  
  
  
  
"Oh Eve," he whispered her name mesmerized by her beauty as he held her, as he felt her alive and safe in his arms and it was in that instant that his heart sank at the thought of what she'd endured over the last few years. It was in that instant that the reality of the situation hit him hard.   
  
  
  
While Chris had been thanking his lucky stars that his dream girl had been returned to him alive and so very real, he'd forgotten for the night the pain and suffering she'd endured to be with him. It seemed unfair that after all they'd gone through, she'd had to be subjected to so many horrors from the man who'd worked so hard to make Chris miserable growing up. Flashes of his childhood pressed over him as a shudder involuntarily spilled over his shoulders. Time and time again he tried to pretend that those years hadn't happened, that the pain that had alienated him from his brother wouldn't find a way to creep back into his life, but now as his eyes fell upon the woman he loved more than life itself, he realized that Henry had found a way to taint that part of his life as well. He'd found a way to take something so beautiful and exploit it for his own gain and as Chris felt his arm squeeze Eve closer to him, his heart ached for all the ways in which he'd failed her in her absence.  
  
  
  
As if sensing his discontent, Eve's eyelashes slowly fluttered as her dark eyes turned up towards his and a hint of a smile crept in over her beautiful features, "Good morning…" she mused rubbing her palm over the center of the hair dusted muscle that lined his chest, "I was starting to think I'd died and gone to heaven there."  
  
  
"On the contrary," Chris eased her chin up towards his as he pulled her more completely onto him, "heaven is here on earth for us in this moment with one another."  
  
  
Eve's smile grew as she tipped down to kiss him tenderly, "I've never felt more alive than I do when I'm wrapped up in your arms like this."  
  
  
"I wish I could always make you feel this safe and protected," Chris offered up poignantly, "I wish that I had been able to spare you the hell you went through."  
  
  
"Chris, in being able to have a second chance with you, I know that somehow this was fate trying to tell us that we can beat the odds," she began as she nestled her head upon his shoulder holding him as if she'd never let go, "I know that together we can find a way to stop the past from destroying us."  
  
  
"In finding our daughter and eliminating Henry from our lives," Chris sighed thinking about their missing daughter, "Eve, I'm so afraid of what he could be doing right now to our little girl. When I think of what he did to you to spite me…"  
  
  
"Chris, don't," Eve pressed her fingers over the center of his lips to silence him, "please don't dwell on what happened to me. Right now we need to focus on what matters and that's our little girl. She's our top priority and the sooner we start working on finding her, the better her chances will be."  
  
  
"I know that Eve, but when I think of what that man did to you…the ways in which he hurt you…" his voice trailed off as an anger filled him down to the core, "he had no right to do any of this…"  
  
  
"Chris, please don't," Eve rolled off of him pulling the blanket up over her naked form as she looked to the window at the far end of the room, "Don't get lost in that when it's not important."  
  
  
"Eve, it is important," he sat upright reaching out to her as his fingers pressed in over her shoulder, "No man should ever put you in a position where you have to bend to his bidding…especially not a man like my father. When I think of the things he's done to you…"  
  
  
"Chris, your father isn't the first man to take my body like that," Eve glanced over her shoulder at him as a sadness filled her eyes, "what he did to my body was nothing compared to what I know he'll do to our daughter if we don't find her. I've dealt with men like that in the past and while I'm not proud of that, the fact remains that I'll survive. I always do, but Sarah, Chris, she's only a child…she can't protect herself from a man like Henry…" she broke down into tears once more thinking about the daughter she'd left behind when Henry tried to end her life, "Chris, the longer he has her, the more danger she's in…"  
  
  
"We'll find her baby," he promised hugging her against him as she sank back into his chest overcome by tears, "and when we do, I swear to you that he'll never hurt you or Sarah ever again. This time Henry won't get away with the things he's done," he vowed tension laced in his tone.  
  
  
  
"All I want is my daughter back. I want to find her and for us to have a family like we always should've had…" she cried as she curled her arm around him allowing him to hold her more completely as her tears broke his heart.  
  
  
  
"We'll have that Eve. One way or another I swear to you that we'll find a way to make it happen," he promised wondering just what it would take to be one step ahead of his father after all this time. While he'd hoped that Henry Ramsey would be a thing of the past--a memory that he could lock away forever, he knew now that he'd been wrong to underestimate Henry's evil and there would be only one way to stop him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Eve stepped out of the shower stall reaching for the towel that hung up on the wall beside her as she quickly began to dry off. Wrapping the bath towel around her body hastily, she tried to force the thoughts of the last few years out of her life. Somehow she'd never imagined that she'd be away from it all--that she'd have a second chance at life, but when she reflected on the night she'd spent in Chris's arms, having him make love with her, having him hold her through the night, she found her nightmares had faded and almost all but died down as in his arms she found a certain sense of serenity. Now all she could pray for was the safe return of her daughter.  
  
  
  
Wiping at the steam that splayed over the mirror before her, Eve caught a look at her own frail looking reflection and she felt a shudder press over her. Not long ago, she'd been so full of spunk--full of a zest for life until DV had come to town threatening her existence. Never in the picture did she imagine that a man like Henry Ramsey would trample into her life when she had so much ahead of her. Her fake break up with Kevin had been one thing until she'd found herself experiencing another side of herself with Chris. In their short time being reunited back then, she found herself facing the possibility of what a life with Chris Ramsey could mean, but before she could truly embrace what was happening between them, Henry had ripped her away from the life she'd started to love. He tore her away from the one thing that had finally brought her peace and now as she stood before the mirror starting at the woman she'd become, she could feel herself back in that horrible place Henry had kept her tucked away from the rest of the world in.  
  
  
  
"You'll never escape me," his voice echoed in her head sending chills down her spine as she could feel his clammy touch upon her, "As long as you live and breath, I own you. You're mine…"   
  
  
  
"No," she cried out sending her fist into the mirror as she was brought back to the reality she'd found herself in. She was safe now. She had Chris in her life and soon they'd find a way to save Sarah. They had to because she couldn't accept any less. Her daughter's life meant more than anything and with Chris by her side, they had to find a way to bring their daughter home safely. Too much was riding on that very thing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chris paced the living room area wondering what was taking so long as he looked to the bathroom door. While he was certain he'd heard the shower water stop quite some time ago, he wasn't going to rush Eve as he knew she'd needed her space. Despite her words about staying strong and not wanting to think about what Henry had done to her, Chris knew better than to discard what had taken place. She'd been hurt in a horrible way--having had her life and her freedom, not to mention their daughter ripped away from her and now would be about finding a way to repair the damage that had been done. Certainly they would do their best to bring Sarah home, but as he thought to the look of sadness in Eve's eyes when she spoke of the past, he wondered if there would ever truly be a way to heal the emotional scars Henry had placed upon her.  
  
  
  
As Chris stood beside himself with worry, he heard a knock at the front door alerting him to the reason he'd encouraged Eve to take a shower and relax on her own. While he'd wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and protect her through the morning, he knew that the force he'd need in taking on Henry couldn't happen on his own. As much as Chris Ramsey hated to ask for help, he had no choice but to bring in someone who he was certain would dread this as much as he had. Opening the door, he took in a long breath as he saw his younger brother standing before him with confused eyes.  
  
  
  
"Chris, what's wrong?" Jack questioned entering the small room, "When Elizabeth was at the wedding and you weren't there with her, I was worried because she'd said you found your wife and…" he paused looking around the room for a moment, "Chris, did you find Julie?"  
  
  
"No," Chris shook his head quickly before drawing in a breath, "This has nothing to do with Julie, though I can guarantee that this might be a little hard for you to digest here."  
  
  
"Chris, what is it? What kind of trouble are you in now?" Jack's eyes washed over with concern, "What's happened?"  
  
  
"Jack, this is going to sound crazy, but you have to believe me," Chris began inhaling a slow, nervous breath.  
  
  
  
"Isn't that supposed to be my line," Jack offered with a half smile trying to lighten the mood before adding, "Chris, after everything that's happened over the last couple years, I think I'm just about ready to believe anything you have to say, so go ahead and lay it on me."  
  
  
"Jack, there's no easy way to put this," Chris rubbed his hands together wearily as he looked to the bathroom door once again.  
  
  
  
"Chris, is someone in there," Jack questioned noting the direction his brother's eyes traveled in.  
  
  
  
"Yes," Chris nodded quickly.  
  
  
  
"The woman Elizabeth was talking about?"  
  
  
"Yes," Chris answered again.  
  
  
  
"Who is she? Chris, what's going on?" Jack asked again noting his brother's cryptic stance, "Are you in some kind of trouble?"  
  
  
"Not in the ways your thinking," Chris explained as a sigh spilled over his lips, "Jack, our father has struck again."  
  
  
"Come again?" Jack blinked back at him, "Chris, don't tell me that woman you found has something to do with Henry?"  
  
  
"She does, but it's not like it sounds," Chris motioned to the couch, "Jack, you might want to sit down for this."  
  
  
"Chris, you're scaring me. This isn't like you to be so nervous about sharing something with me. What is it?"  
  
  
"Jack, it's just that Henry, well he…" Chris began as the bathroom door opened and Eve stepped out into the room.  
  
  
  
"Sorry for taking so long in there, but I just got a little wrapped up in," Eve started running the towel through her damp hair as her eyes fell upon their new visitor, "Who are you?" she asked wearily.  
  
  
  
"Eve?" Jack blinked back in surprise as he couldn't help but stare at her, "But how?"  
  
  
"Chris, what's going on?" Eve questioned turning to him with a look of panic upon her face.  
  
  
  
"I can explain," he motioned for her to join him and Jack as she wearily approached him. He turned to his brother noting the color that had drained from Jack's features.  
  
  
  
"I don't believe this," Jack blinked once, twice, three times as if his mind was playing tricks on him, "I mean sure I know what's been happening in Port Charles, but no one ever mentioned that it could be possible that you'd be back unless…" he paused as a confusion set in, "Does this have to do with Caleb somehow?"  
  
  
"Who?" Eve frowned in response.  
  
  
  
"This has nothing to do with Caleb," Chris reached out to Eve bringing his arm around her protectively, "but what it does involve is our father."  
  
  
"Chris, how is our father connected to Eve?" Jack demanded before looking to Eve again, "And how is she standing here before me?"  
  
  
"I can explain," Chris sighed realizing it was going to be a long morning as he focused on Eve, "Eve, I'd like you to meet my younger brother Jack."  
  
  
"Jack," Eve's face shifted as she forced a polite smile and she extended her hand, "Chris has told me so much about you…well at least he did a long time ago."  
  
  
"He did," Jack gave Chris a strange look as Chris offered up an explanation.  
  
  
  
"Jack, our father kidnapped Eve three years ago when he'd been hired by a man named David Bordiso," Chris frowned motioning to the couch once again, "maybe you should sit down for this."  
  
  
"This time I think I'm going to take your advice," Jack nodded in agreement as Chris urged Eve to follow him over to the love seat and he sat down with her.  
  
  
  
"You see a long time ago when I was working to help Julie, I was connected with a man…this Bordiso and somehow he managed to get our father involved in working with him," Chris explained with a heavy heart, "At the time Henry became a part of the equation Eve and I were living together…"  
  
  
"Okay, I knew that you two lived together, but what does this have to do with her being here now?" Jack threw out once again.  
  
  
  
"Jack, the woman you met in Port Charles wasn't Eve. She was someone that DV Bordiso sent to town to take her place because he and Henry wanted me to believe that Eve didn't care about me…that she wasn't the woman who'd been in Port Charles," Chris confessed painfully.  
  
  
  
"But why would he do that?" Jack shook his head in response, "I mean sure I understand why Henry would go to such lengths, but how could he pull something like that off and why?"  
  
  
"You'd be amazed at the things men like Henry and DV were capable of," Eve offered up breaking her long moment of silence, "When your brother and I were living together, well we'd both been going through some difficult times and well," she looked to the floor, "at the time we'd moved in with one another again, we…"  
  
  
"We were involved with one another," Chris finished for her as he reached for her hand squeezing it gently, "Eve and I were lovers and Henry discovered this. Not only did he find a way to help DV get Eve out of Port Charles undetected, but he also found a way to keep her captive for those years and he has our daughter."  
  
  
"What?" Jack's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
  
  
"I was pregnant when your father took me out of Port Charles," Eve confessed tearfully, "Chris and I were having a baby and Henry used to that his advantage over the years he'd kept me captive. He tried to kill me the night Chris found me as he'd had his fill of me…but with Sarah…" her hands trembled as Chris squeezed her fingers gently and he looked to his brother.  
  
  
  
"Jack, he's got our daughter and I have to find a way to get to him and get Sarah back," Chris pleaded with him as he pulled Eve into his arms holding her as her tears got the best of her, "You know how much Eve means to me and now knowing that I have a daughter…"  
  
  
"Chris, you don't have to say anything else," Jack interrupted quickly as he watched the exchange between Chris and Eve. "Whatever you need, I'm there for you."  
  
  
"I was hoping I could count on you little brother," Chris replied with a nod, "It's not going to be easy, but I think together we can find a way to stop Henry from hurting anyone else."  
  
  
"I don't know what I can do, but I'm willing to try. Anything to put that man in his place for the damage he's caused our family," Jack motioned to Eve as he reached out to her as well setting his hand on her knee supportively, "Chris and I are going to find Sarah and when we do that son of a bitch is going to pay."  
  
  
Eve nodded with a sniffle before mouthing the words, "Thank you."  
  
  
"Just tell me what you need Chris and I'm on it," Jack announced as anger surged through him at the thought of all the damage his father had inflicted upon their family over the years. When he looked back on the ways he and Chris had been alienated because of Henry Ramsey, he knew that anything else the man could do to torture the family would only result in devastation if he and Chris didn't band together. Even now as Jack had a great many questions about Eve's presence in the room, he realized that it was secondary to finding where Henry had Chris's daughter.  
  
  
  
"I need to know about mom," Chris explained as Eve's tears began to die down, "You need to tell me about where she was…how you located her and everything you know about what Henry did to her."  
  
  
"Chris, it was a while ago," Jack began thinking to the painful moments in his life that his father had brought upon him when he'd been forced to watch his mother's downward spiral.  
  
  
  
"I know it was, but it's all that we have and Jack, right now I need to know everything as there's so much riding on this," Chris insisted praying that somehow in hearing of what Jack experienced it would be the key to locating Sarah before it was too late. As his eyes fell upon Eve, he vowed to himself that he wouldn't allow Henry to take Sarah away from them as finding her was the most important thing. 


	6. Chapter 8

"So tell me Eve," Kevin began as he sat across from her on the small jet Chris had sent in for the trip to fly out to New York City, "How have you been really?"  
  
  
"That's a strange question to ask considering what we've told you," Chris grumbled in response already hating that he'd brought Kevin into the situation as Kevin had been fixated on Eve in ways Chris was certain he already didn't like.  
  
  
  
"It's just polite conversation," Kevin glared in Chris's direction, "Something you clearly know nothing about, Ramsey."  
  
  
"Oh like you're one to talk wacko," Chris snapped as he threw out an icy glare in Kevin's direction, "Though while we're on the subject of conversation, how's Lucy doing lately after you tried to kill her?"  
  
  
"How should I know," Kevin wrinkled his nose in response as he focused upon Eve once again reaching for her hand as he lifted it to his lips in a tender kiss, "and why would I care?"  
  
  
"I heard about what happened with Lucy," Eve felt the tension in the air as she looked between the two men in her life, "Jack told me how you married Lucy and she left you for this Ian character…"  
  
  
"Lucy and I weren't meant to be," Kevin sighed as he released her hand and sank back into his seat, "but then again I suppose you always knew that, didn't you Eve?"  
  
  
"I knew you could do a hell of a lot better," Eve nodded in agreement as she thought to the woman she'd spent so many years hating.  
  
  
  
"And I did for a brief fleeting moment," Kevin flashed her a sexy smile, "when I was with you…"  
  
  
"Kevin," Eve felt a heat rise over her features as she felt a memory of her time with Kevin pass through her mind.  
  
  
  
"That's it," Chris announced getting up off of his seat as Jack reached for his arm.  
  
  
  
"Chris, let it go," Jack urged him hoping to avoid any kind of conflict as he was well aware at how upset Kevin's paying Eve attention was making his brother. "Remember she came to you…not Kevin and we're looking for your daughter."  
  
  
"Which is exactly why he needs to back off," Chris insisted as he cast his brother one last glance before moving in closer to Eve. He wrapped his arm around her as he squeezed her in closer to him, "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"  
  
  
"I've had better days, but I'll be better when we find Sarah," Eve explained shifting her eyes up towards him as he urged her in against him.  
  
  
  
"Why don't you rest a bit," Chris suggested kissing the top of her head as he threw Kevin a quick warning look, "I'll wake you when we get there."  
  
  
"No," Eve insisted shaking her head, "I can't relax knowing that our daughter is in the hands of that monster…that she's out there and needing me…"  
  
  
"We'll find her baby," Chris assured her as he hugged her in against him, "One way we'll find a way to bring our little girl home."  
  
  
"How old did you say Sarah was again," Kevin piped in watching the two of them with a scrutinizing eye.  
  
  
  
"She's three," Eve explained thinking to her missing daughter, "and she'd so very beautiful."  
  
  
"With you as her mother, well I have no doubts about that," Kevin smiled brightly before a moment of silence passed over them, "Although Eve I hate to ask, but there's something that's been on my mind since I heard about DV taking you and about Sarah's existence…"  
  
  
"What's that?" Eve questioned leaning her head in against Chris as she saw something pass over his features before he rubbed his hands together.  
  
  
  
"Well, being that she's three years old and you were kidnapped at a time when you and I were still together, is there any chance that maybe just maybe Sarah is…" Kevin started as Chris groaned in response.  
  
  
  
"Oh hell Collins. Will you get it through your head? Eve is with me now and this is my daughter we're looking for. Your fruit loop daughter is off in Port Charles chasing around a vampire and making everyone miserable."  
  
  
"Chris," Jack chastised him as he couldn't believe his brother's reaction to Kevin.  
  
  
  
"Well it's true," Chris insisted bitterly, "I mean let's be real here…"  
  
  
"Wait a second," Eve blinked back upon his words, "Chris, what did you just say?"  
  
  
"I said that Kevin here has a daughter…a real piece of work, but they say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and in this case, it's true as the loony bird clan just keeps on growing at the Collins household."  
  
  
"Why you…" Kevin's jaw clenched with anger as Eve positioned herself between the two of them hoping to stop whatever was starting before it began.  
  
  
  
"Stop it," she pleaded with the both of them, "Chris, Kevin, this isn't helping anything," she paused trying to decipher something for a moment before looking to Chris, "You said something about vampires, didn't you?"  
  
  
"Yes, I did," Chris hesitated as he thought about his words, "but right now that isn't something we should get into."  
  
  
"Yes, we should," Eve insisted looking over the group, "Is it true that you think there's some kind of vampires in Port Charles?"  
  
  
"Eve, it's really a ridiculous thing not worth talking about and…" Chris started uneasily.  
  
  
  
"Yes, there is," Kevin blurted out with an ironic laugh, "which means there are more bloodsuckers running around than Ramsey these days."  
  
  
Eve turned her attention to Jack who nodded solemnly, "There's been a lot of crazy stuff going on and we weren't sure what to make of it, but I was one of them myself once upon a time…"  
  
  
"Wait a second," Eve tried to take it all in as the moment overwhelmed her and she sank back into her seat, "I don't believe this. He did it…he really did it…"  
  
  
"Did what?" Chris asked in confusion.  
  
  
  
"Who?" Kevin inquired, "Eve, what's going on?"  
  
  
"DV," Eve explained lifting her eyes up to the men that surrounded her once again, "He'd been playing mind control games before I was kidnapped," she turned to Kevin, "You remember what he was doing there in trying to drive me crazy about my son…"  
  
  
"Yes," Kevin nodded in response, "He made you believe that your son was alive and showed you what you thought was a real, living breathing version of your child…"  
  
  
"Kevin, I wanted to believe so hard that boy was real, but when I touched him, well, it seemed like it was happening, but I learned after that it wasn't real…" Eve bit on her lower lip thinking to the trick that had been played on her, "DV had this way of manipulating people…using mind control and with a few tools he could maneuver a situation to his liking. He'd make people believe that they had someone around who wasn't really there. You could be talking to someone who never existed and you could feel them, but it was all in your head…in your mind and the reality was that it wasn't real at all…"  
  
  
"Eve, I know that he did a lot of things to screw with your mind, but this time with the vampires," Kevin began sympathetically, "As much of a nightmare it's been…"  
  
  
"There's a man named Michael Morley," Eve insisted seeing the surprise that filled the small area they'd been seated in, "He is the alter ego to whatever creature of the night that's been stalking everyone…"  
  
  
"Caleb," Jack nodded in response, "Yeah, that's him, but how do you know…"  
  
  
"He's not real," Eve blurted out shaking her head as the deliriousness of it all hit her hard, "I mean he's real, but he's not. He's a projection that DV worked on in his labs. He was so sure he'd find a way to get revenge on everyone in Port Charles when he came to town, but when sabotage didn't work, he started upping the ammo. He created this thing based on fears and…"  
  
  
"Eve, as crazy as it sounds the vampires were real," Chris began to explain as he reached for her hand, "We were all touched by it and when he went after the baby that your look-alike was having…"  
  
  
"Chris, I'm telling you that they weren't," Eve argued with him, "Nothing about vampires is real except for the things we read in fiction and what we have in our imagination. I'm sure that you also believed in angels and witches, right?"  
  
  
"Actually," Jack gave her a sideways glance, "Eve, sure this all sounds completely nuts, but we were all a part of it. I was bit by Caleb and…"  
  
  
"Do you remember being attacked by this so called vampire?" Eve questioned eagerly, "Do you remember all the details or was some of it hazy?"  
  
  
"It was a nightmare," Jack offered up in confession, "and I was in this race and I died…but then I was alive…"  
  
  
"You were never dead," Eve answered with a heavy sigh, "and knowing what I know about DV and about Henry, my guess is that you were targeted because of your relation to Henry. When DV was injured, well he took a profound interest in the psychic projections and the alternate realities he could be god in. The only problem was the to do such a mass hypnosis, they needed something that would work, something that could transmit all the signals needed to make the hysteria seem real…"  
  
  
"I don't believe this," Chris shook his head in response, "I mean sure believing in vampires is bad enough, but now you're telling me that Henry and DV created them."  
  
  
"Chris, you have no idea what they are capable of," Eve looked to Kevin poignantly, "and your breakdown--you were drugged weren't you?"  
  
  
"Yes, I was, but how did you…" Kevin started before finding himself at a complete loss.  
  
  
  
"DV was out to get you Kevin," Eve offered up with a sigh, "He didn't like how you stood in his way and he was trying to get back at you. In fact I'm willing to bet that this Ian guy that Lucy is with works for Henry…"  
  
  
"Whoa, back up," Chris shook his head, "You're saying that my father brought Ian Thornhart into Port Charles."  
  
  
"Think about it…really think about it," Eve focused her attention on him, "You said it yourself that the version of me you were faced with ignored you. She turned her back on both you and Kevin and ran to this Ian guy. Then when the timing was right, you all lost her. You watched her die and then this Ian guy moved in on Lucy, which clearly at the time Kevin was with her, yes?"  
  
  
Kevin's jaw clenched in anger as he nodded silently.  
  
  
  
"This guy strikes me as one of the men who could've worked for the project. I mean it only makes sense considering all else that's been going on. More than likely Ian's a man of power, influence and plays a heroic part that plays into his grandiose feelings of importance, yes?"  
  
  
"More than you know," Chris muttered with a huff.  
  
  
  
"Ian's the poster child for pain in the ass and saint wanna be rolled into one," Kevin grumbled in response, "He always thinks he can find a way to have it all…"  
  
  
"And my guess is he was programmed to believe he can."  
  
  
"So you're saying that Ian's not real?" Jack asked in confusion.  
  
  
  
"No, he's probably real as DV and Henry needed people to help play the parts they created if they planned to pull them off over a long period of time. My guess is that the men that were brought in got a little too adjusted to the role and with DV gone, well they could be whatever they wanted to as they manipulated the town to do what they wanted…"  
  
  
"That explains a lot," Chris remarked offhandedly, "Though that still doesn't answer a lot of the questions…"  
  
  
"It's not supposed to and maybe in Port Charles the answers will become clearer, but first I need to find our daughter. If Henry disappears or finds a way to sneak off to some place like Port Charles where it's easy to manipulate the citizens, well then there's no telling what will happen to Sarah. We may never see her again and I can't bear the thought of that happening…"  
  
  
"It won't happen," Chris promised her, "We'll find our daughter and when we do, we'll find a way to put an end to the nightmare my father has worked so hard to create once and for all."   
  
  
  
"I hope you're right, Chris," Eve sank into his arms hoping above hope that this lead to New York City would bring her closer to holding her daughter in her arms once again. 


	7. Chapter 9

Eve's heart raced as she felt the weight of the moment upon her now as she, Chris, Kevin and Jack stood outside DV's apartment. Despite Chris's many protests about her coming along with them on this journey, she refused to back down when they'd come so far. If she was going to find Sarah, then she wanted to be there the moment it happened as so much was riding on her being reunited with her daughter. As if sensing her apprehension and concerns about the situation, Chris stepped up beside her touching her shoulder gently.  
  
  
  
"Eve, whatever happens, I just want you to know that one way or another we're all going to be a family again," Chris promised thinking about what the receptionist had said down at the desk about a man fitting Henry's description having been there the day before with a small child. He only prayed that Henry hadn't been one step ahead of them as his daughter's life was on the line. Even now he'd felt fear unlike anything he'd ever known as he tried to force himself to be strong for Eve. The last place he wanted her was near where Henry could be, but she'd been so stubborn and strong willed refusing to back down on the search for their daughter.  
  
  
  
"On the count of three," Kevin mouthed doing a silent count and knocking on the door only do discover no answer on the other side. Without waiting for any other thoughts or suggestions, he bust the door in marching inside with Chris close behind him as they searched the apartment.  
  
  
  
Eve followed the group as she noticed the living room before her with toys scattered on the carpeting and in that instant she noticed Sarah's favorite story book on the floor. Kneeling down as the book lay face down and open on the carpet, Eve reached out to it feeling the tears building behind her eyes as the men searched the rest of the apartment coming up empty.  
  
  
  
"Nothing," Jack announced coming out of one of the rooms as he exchanged poignant glances with Chris, "No one's in here."  
  
  
"No one's in here either," Kevin offered up with a frown.  
  
  
  
"They were here not too long ago," Eve spoke up choked up on emotion as she hugged the book to her chest, "He had Sarah here and now they're gone. Now we've lost our only lead on our daughter…"  
  
  
"No we haven't," Chris replied desperately seeking out some clue that Henry could've left in the apartment as the phone on the desk began to ring causing everyone in the room to stop mid-movement as Eve exchanged knowing glances with Chris.  
  
  
  
"Should we answer it," Jack questioned in confusion as Chris headed over towards the phone.  
  
  
  
"It's for me," Chris announced pulling the phone up off of the base as he heard a laugh on the other end of the line.  
  
  
  
"Well son, I see you're still always one step behind, aren't you," Henry's voice taunted on the other end of the line, "Did you honestly think you would be able to run a con over an old pro like myself considering that you have something that belongs to me?"  
  
  
"Where are you, you son of a bitch," Chris cursed as his finger clenched around the phone, "What have you done with my daughter?"  
  
  
"Nothing yet, but you on the other hand have been a very naughty boy," Henry taunted him in a mocking tone, "I see you've caught up with my wife and it seems that you're having a good old time with your step-mother while I'm tending to my daughter…"  
  
  
"You lie," Chris snapped back at him, "Henry, I'm not in the mood for games. Where is Sarah?"  
  
  
"She's safe," Henry added cryptically, "but she misses her mother and I'd like to have a word with Eve if you don't mind as I know she's there."  
  
  
"You're not getting a word with her," Chris cut back sharply, "Not until you let me speak with Sarah."  
  
  
"Chris, you're nothing to my daughter. Putting you on the phone with her would only confuse her," Henry explained simply, "so now do us both a favor and let me talk to my wife…"  
  
  
"She's not your…" Chris argued with him as Eve managed to pull herself up off of the floor, a desperation filling her eyes as she stepped in closer to Chris offering up her hand.  
  
  
  
"Put me on the phone, Ramsey," she begged of him, "please…let me talk to him…"  
  
  
"Eve, it's not…" Chris started as tears swirled in her eyes.  
  
  
  
"See Chris, she's missing me already," Henry remarked sharply, "put her on the phone or else I swear to you the next time anyone will be seeing Sarah it'll be face down in a river…"  
  
  
Chris remained silent handing the phone over to Eve despite his initial concerns as Henry's words filled his head. Could it be possible that Eve had married Henry? That she'd somehow given in to his every demand after he'd threatened her and now she was married to the monster that had managed to destroy their lives? To the man who'd ultimately taken her and Sarah away from him? As he watched her on the phone with Henry, his heart raced in his chest as fear consumed him.  
  
  
  
"I'm here, you bastard," Eve spoke evenly as her tear filled eyes fell upon Chris seeing the confusion and concern set in over his features, "Yes…yes I…please…just let me see her…let me…" she paused choked up on emotion, "Henry…alright…yes…I will…" she dropped the phone holding it out to Chris as tears consumed her, "He wants to speak with you."  
  
  
Chris accepted the phone watching Eve rush down a hallway overcome by tears as he heard Henry speak smoothly into the line, "My wife's having an emotional week there I see now that you fished her out of the river there. You see Eve and I were having a spat, but now that she's thought it over, she's agreed to come back home to Sarah and I. She's decided that it's in her best interested to be a nice, obedient wife as she is rather good at that…"  
  
  
"She's not your wife," Chris shot back at him, "and as for you, why don't you come out of hiding and show yourself you coward?"  
  
  
"Such strong words Chris," Henry chuckled overcome with laughter, "and here I'd thought you'd wizened up over the years boy, but then again you always did have a problem in dipping into my spoils, but with Eve, well I don't know what you felt you had with her, but she's mine and that isn't changing. In fact, the way I see it, if you want to do something to make her happy, you'll see to it that she is where I asked her to be for my next phone call…"  
  
  
"I'm not taking her anywhere and you can just…"  
  
  
"Watch it boy because one wrong word and Sarah just might not wind up having a good day after all," Henry warned in a sinister tone, "and as for Eve, well you'll find I left you both something special in the VCR. Talk to you later son…"  
  
  
"Henry you…" Chris was met by a dial tone as he exchanged glances with Kevin and Jack.  
  
  
  
"What just happened?" Jack asked in confusion.  
  
  
  
"He's playing games with us," Chris answered flatly trying to stay calm despite the fire of rage burning inside of him, "He's instructed Eve to be somewhere when he makes contact again and I have a feeling he's going to strike soon…"  
  
  
"Then we'll be ready for him," Kevin announced in a dark tone, "because I'm not going to let someone like that hurt her again."  
  
  
"Neither am I," Chris paused thinking about Henry's last comment, "but right now she's upset and I think I need to have a few words with her myself…"  
  
  
"I'll get working on seeing where that call came from," Jack announced turning to Kevin, "Didn't you say your father had sources here in New York City?"  
  
  
"I called some of them before we arrived and they should be downstairs as we speak," Kevin offered with a quick nod, "We should go check in on them…"  
  
  
"Alright," Jack agreed eyeing Chris closely, "Will you and Eve be okay up here for a few minutes alone?"  
  
  
"We should be fine," Chris nodded in response watching them leave the room as he turned his eyes in the direction Eve had headed off in. While he'd wanted to talk to her more than anything, something about the way Henry's voice had taunted him about what was waiting in the VCR had him on edge as he couldn't help but be drawn over to it. He took in a slow breath trying to talk himself out of playing into his father's games, but as his curiosity got the best of him, he pushed play ready to face what was waiting from Henry.  
  
  
  
"Chris don't," Eve pleaded stepping out into the living room as her tear stained features caused him to look away from the television, "Don't watch that…"  
  
  
"Eve, what's going on," Chris questioned hearing the familiar sounds of a chilling intimate moment happening onscreen as his eyes fell upon his father in bed with Eve.  
  
  
  
"Chris please…" she rushed over to stand in front of the television set trying to turn it off as her voice grew tight with emotion, "Don't watch this…"  
  
  
"Eve," he spoke up trying to come to grips with what was happening as he heard Henry coaching Eve on the television.  
  
  
  
"Say it Eve…" Henry cajoled her as Eve's cries could be heard in the background, "Say it…"  
  
  
"I…" she was broken up by what sounded like tears as Chris could catch images of Henry having sex with her, "I…"  
  
  
"Say it…" Henry demanded as another whimper rose up inside of Eve's strangled voice on the television set.  
  
  
  
"I love you, my husband…." she cried out as Eve sank down in front of the television revealing the degrading scene that was taking place behind her as Henry had forced her to be with him, pushing her past her limits as he'd trapped her into the situation that Chris now took in with obvious horror behind his eyes as he reached out to stop the tape pulling it out of the VCR as it was labeled, HONEYMOON.  
  
  
  
"So it's true," Chris sank down on the floor beside her as Eve brought her knees up to her chest and buried her head so he couldn't see her face as tears of shame consumed her.  
  
  
  
"Chris, I was desperate," she began choked up on emotion unwilling to face him as her heart broke with the thought of what she'd done, "I was so afraid and…"  
  
  
"And he gave you no other choice," he half questioned as she began to shake at the horrible memory that filled her.  
  
  
  
She nodded still refusing to meet his eyes as she could only imagine the way he must've hated her for allowing Henry to get the best of her, "Chris, he said he'd find a way to destroy you…that he'd make sure you went to jail for the rest of your life and after he'd raped me," she forced herself to face him as her tears consumed her, "I didn't think that it could get any worse…"  
  
  
"Eve, honey…" he reached out to her his heart breaking into a million pieces at the way Henry had caused her to crumble with that tape he'd left for them.  
  
  
  
"Chris, I never wanted to do any of that, but he'd threatened me with you and with Sarah," she sobbed harder, "that night when he'd forced me to marry him…it was the last thing I wanted, but Chris, I was terrified and then…"  
  
  
"Then he made you feel like you had no other alternative," he reached out to her unable to mask the pain that struck at his heart at the thought of what was happening, but more so at the sound of Eve's voice on the tape, of the way she'd looked with Henry on top of her pounding away at her as he'd hoped the tape would prove something about Eve's lack of loyalty, but instead Chris thought to the way she'd been so desperate to hold on to him, to how she'd begged him to make love to her, to save her and in that instant he realized what their love had done to her as it had been turned against her transformed into a tool of torture that Henry would use on her again and again over those years they'd been apart.  
  
  
  
"Eve, it's okay," Chris hugged her in his arms, "Baby, this tape doesn't change anything…"  
  
  
"Yes it does," Eve cried out unable to contain herself as she fell into his chest, "I never wanted you to know about the wedding…about what happened with Henry and I when I let him make love to me…"  
  
  
"Eve, I know you didn't let him do anything," he reached out to her chin urging her to meet his eyes, "I know that wasn't making love as Henry doesn't know the meaning of the word. He only knows how to hurt…"  
  
  
"Chris, he told me if I'm not there when he calls…if I don't come back to him and behave like a good wife should, that he's going to kill Sarah," her lip trembled with the words, "I can't let him hurt her."  
  
  
"I'm not going to give you back to him either," Chris pulled her into his lap more completely, "He's not going to do any more to you than he already has…"  
  
  
"But Sarah…" Eve began desperately, "Chris, he said if I don't come back then…"  
  
  
"There has to be another way," Chris reached out to her wiping at her tears.  
  
  
  
"I'm his wife and he feels I belong to him and if I don't go back," Eve stammered swept up in a world of shame and misery, "If I don't do what he wants…"  
  
  
"Eve, you're not his. You were never a possession that he could control and you still aren't," he offered up solemnly, "When you married him, you were just trying to save our daughter and I know in my heart that whatever happened, it wasn't because you loved him or felt anything other than contempt…"  
  
  
"Still, I should've been stronger…I should've fought harder," she shivered at the memory, "The first time, I tried to pretend that I was with you…that I could keep faking it, but then he got more aggressive…he was more brutal and then the sex wasn't enough. He was consumed with the idea of controlling me in every sense of the word and when he pushed the marriage on me…"  
  
  
"The marriage isn't legal. It can't be…" Chris tried to argue with her.  
  
  
  
"Chris, he went through the proper channels," Eve answered painfully, "and in the eyes of the law…"  
  
  
"To hell with that. There's no court out there that would say what he's done to you was legal," Chris saw the defeat behind her eyes as he touched her face, "Eve, he can't break you…he can't take your spirit and he won't win this…"  
  
  
"He already has Sarah," Eve explained as her dark eyes connected with his, "and if I don't go back to him…"  
  
  
"If you go back to him, he'll kill you and I won't allow that to happen. I've waited too long and wished too hard for you to come back into my life and I refuse to let Henry take that from us. He might think he's got the upper hand right now, but I won't let him keep our daughter from us…"  
  
  
"Chris, but…"  
  
  
"But nothing. Eve, I love you and I don't care what Henry did or said as you need to get this through your head from this moment on. I've always loved you and this changes nothing," he tried to assure her as his voice cracked with emotion, "I know he was trying to make you believe that seeing this tape or learning about the marriage would somehow make me think less of what we have with one another, but Eve it doesn't change a thing."  
  
  
  
"Chris I…" she began again.  
  
  
  
"Lambert, get this through your head and try to remember it," he cupped her face in his hands struggling to reach that part of her that Henry had used to tear down her defenses and attack her spirit over the years, "You're my once in a lifetime and I don't care how long it takes or what we have to do to make this right, but we will because the way I see it the only place for you in this world is with me and together, well together we'll find a way to beat all of this…"  
  
  
"But Henry's so strong and he swore that if I didn't come back to him that he'd…" Eve cried out in horror as the thought of being near Henry again made her shudder.  
  
  
  
"He's not going to do a damn thing to you and Sarah. Kevin's working with us and I'll use whatever it takes to bring Henry down and our daughter back home again," he vowed holding her as he'd never let go as he decided from this moment on whatever happened, as soon as he found his father, Henry Ramsey was a dead man. That much he was sure of. 


	8. Chapter 10

Eve sat on the park bench feeling the winds whip up around her as an air of discontent filled her up inside. Now as she looked around the quiet park watching the day slip away, she wondered if Chris was right about the things he'd told her earlier. While he'd promised that somehow things would be better, she was still having her doubts as Henry's latest phone call filled her mind up once again with worries.  
  
  
  
"Be there on the bench at six and not a minute late because if you are, I swear to you that you'll never see Sarah again," Henry had warned her promising that if she didn't follow his instructions to a tee that he would find a way to destroy her life.   
  
  
  
Even now as she thought of his outrageous request, she wished that somehow there was some other alternative. He'd insisted she wait for him in the park where he would pick her up and take her back with him where she belonged and only then would she and Sarah be reunited once he was certain she wouldn't be leaving him once again. The plan was for Eve to go with Henry when he arrived with Chris, Kevin and Jack tailing them as Victor's contacts in New York would bust in and put an end to the nightmare taking place as soon as she and Sarah reconnected. It seemed like the perfect plan, except for the fact Eve felt it was too much of a risk. There was far too much riding on Henry's not being wise to what Chris was doing and given that he'd already been a step ahead of them, she was beginning to wonder if she'd have the strength to pull something like this off, but when she thought of her precious daughter she knew she had to try.  
  
  
  
"Six fifteen," she whispered to herself realizing Henry was late as she could feel the weight of Chris's eyes upon her from across the park. Despite the fact they'd bickered on what to do in this situation, she suddenly felt safer in having him near her. Even now she knew that they had far too much to talk about in such short time, but she just prayed that somehow they could get back to that family they'd dreamt about in the past with one another.  
  
  
  
"I'm right here with you," she heard a voice whisper as she looked up over her shoulder to see a city worker reaching into one of the trash bins beside her.  
  
  
  
"Chris," she gasped unable to believe the bold move on his part as her eyes widened in surprise.  
  
  
  
"Don't look at me," he urged her as Eve sat straighter looking forward out into the park once again, "I don't want to tip Henry off, but I couldn't just leave you hanging."  
  
  
"You really shouldn't be out here right now this close to me," Eve offered up again as her stomach was tied in knots, "If he's seen you…"  
  
  
"Eve, I don't think he's coming," Chris replied with a sigh, "If he meant what he said on the phone, then he would've been here fifteen minutes ago."  
  
  
"Chris we have to wait. If he's running behind and…" she began again trying to pretend that she wasn't having a conversation with him.  
  
  
  
"Eve, he's playing another game with us. This is part of the thrill for him," Chris explained pretending to sift through the trash bin before him, "I just have a bad feeling about this Eve."  
  
  
"This all has a bad feel to it, but it's Sarah's life," Eve answered quickly feeling the winds pick up around her as a breath escaped her lips, "I can't risk it by jumping the gun."  
  
  
"I know that, but…" Chris started once again.  
  
  
  
"Chris, someone's coming," Eve whispered watching as a tall man in a black trench coat began approaching her. His head was masked by the dark hat he was wearing as his face was tipped down to the ground avoiding any possible contact or identification from those around him as Eve's pulse raced in her chest.  
  
  
  
"I'll go, but I swear if he does anything…" Chris began again.  
  
  
  
"Chris please," Eve begged of him hearing him shuffle off as she wondered if the man before her was the same monster that had tortured her over the last few years, but before her panic could get the best of her the man stopped right in front of her bringing an end to the questions running through her head as she found herself face to face with unfamiliar eyes.  
  
  
  
"Mrs. Ramsey," the man questioned as Eve realized that he looked not a day over twenty as his very blue eyes connected with hers.  
  
  
  
"Yes," she questioned a lump forming in her throat as he reached into his pocket pulling out an envelope and handing it to her.  
  
  
  
"I was supposed to give you this," he explained quickly taking off as Eve's hands began to shake upon accepting the envelope in her hands. Pulling all of her strength together, she tore open the envelope fearing what could be inside as her heart thudded in her chest and as her eyes fell upon it's contents, she realized what she had to do.  
  
******************  
  
"What's going on," Chris grumbled watching the man interact with Eve as he tried to see if it was Henry, but as the man walked away after giving Eve something, he was even more puzzled by what was taking place.   
  
  
  
"What's he doing?" Kevin questioned over his shoulder as Eve rose up from the park bench looking around the park for a moment before turning away from the two of them and heading out of the park.  
  
  
  
"I don't know, but I'm not going to stay back here and wait to find out," Chris decided taking a step forward as Kevin reached for his arm.  
  
  
  
"We have the tracking device in her purse," Kevin reminded him.  
  
  
"I still think he's going to be ready for something like that and I'm not taking any chances," Chris announced pushing his way past Kevin as he chased after Eve refusing to let her out of his sight.  
  
  
  
"Your brother's going to blow this," Kevin sneered at Jack as Jack shook his head in response watching his brother chase after Eve.  
  
  
  
"Can you blame him?" Jack questioned with a huff, "It's the woman he loves and his daughter we're talking about here. I'm sure you wouldn't be any different…"  
  
  
"No, you're right I wouldn't," Kevin decided with an afterthought, "but if this man's as evil as you say he is, Chris is going to need more back up than what he has going for him by running off like that. Come on. Let's get a move on it."  
  
  
"Right after you," Jack nodded as the two of them chased after Chris hoping that somehow they could find a way to gain the upper hand in the situation as Henry was leading them all on what felt like a wild goose chase.  
  
********************  
  
Eve's breath pooled out before her in what felt like a cloud of smoke as a chill hung in the air mixed with the dampness of the impending evening as she looked to the thick, iron gate before her. While she'd been so certain she was prepared for what was ahead of her, the note she'd received only reconfirmed her fears as she prayed that Henry hadn't done something horrible to Sarah. His cryptic letter had contained pictures from her night with Chris as he'd had no problem letting her know that he was well aware of every move she'd made since he'd tried to kill her. Now as she pushed open the gate to the old, broken down abandoned theme park, she felt her heart pounding furiously inside of her as this place was frightening in itself. Surely whatever Henry had planned, he'd thought this one out well as he'd made certain he'd find a way to get her alone out of Chris's line of vision before he struck. Eve just feared that once he came out of hiding that things would take a turn for the worse.  
  
  
  
Hearing a squeaking sound from behind her, Eve spun around with a gasp expecting Henry to leap up from the shadows, but instead she noticed a broken wind chime dangling just above her head as she placed her hand over her chest. She kept walking in towards the bird house as instructed and as she followed the path, she rubbed her hands over her arms trying to dispel the chill that had overtaken her. It was now or never and as the bird house came into sight, she just prayed that whatever happened Sarah would be safe.  
  
  
  
"Please find us Chris," Eve whispered as she reached out to open the creaking door to the birdhouse as she feared that Henry would take her and Sarah far away from the world she'd fought so hard to return to, or worse as she thought of how he'd tried to kill her once already. Still, as Eve's thoughts were consumed by the daughter she'd fought so hard to protect, she took the first step into darkness through the blackness before her and into the unknown as she said a silent prayer that her daughter would be alright.  
  
********************  
  
"Where are you going," Chris frowned standing at the threshold of the zoo as he found himself wondering just what kind of game Henry was playing with them. He looked around the zoo for any signs of life, but as the emptiness surrounded him, Chris began to wonder if he'd been too slow on following her--if somehow Henry had managed to find a way to snag Eve up without Chris being able to stop it.  
  
  
  
"No," Chris tried to dispel the feelings of worry that consumed him as she made his way into the zoo seeking out any signs of Eve. His eyes searched the place frantically until he heard a sound of something slamming in the distance and he raced off following the noise as the he noticed the door to the ancient looking bird house was swinging with the wind.   
  
  
  
Unable to think about anything, but finding Eve and keeping her safe, Chris rushed inside immediately surrounded by a deafening blackness as his arms reached out for the walls that surrounded him. While this place had clearly been empty for a long time, there was a musty scent that surrounded him and a floral fragrance that seemed to be tossed into the mix as well as Chris kept moving forward. He could feel the ground loose beneath his feet as he strained to hear something, anything more than the furious pounding of his heart, but he was met by an uncomfortable silence as he fought the urge to call out to Eve and locate her.  
  
  
  
A few feet further into the bird house, Chris was granted some hints of light as cracks in the ceiling had brought in some of the sun's fading rays at long last, but before his eyes could completely adjust to what was before him, he saw something hunched over in the far corner of the room before him. He blinked once, twice before it began to register as he realized it looked like Eve's purse.  
  
  
  
"No," he gasped rushing forward as his eyes focused more clearly on the discarded purse. Kneeling down beside it, he felt his fears consume him as he realized he'd been too late. He'd come far too close to have it all slip away and he brought the purse up into his hand, he felt his heart sink with despair as it seemed Henry had once again outsmarted him, but before he could lose himself to the misery of the moment, he heard another sound from the distance.  
  
  
  
"Is someone there…" a small voice sounded as Chris rose to his feet again, "Is anyone here…"  
  
  
Chris followed the source of the sound as he walked down a narrow hallway and as the silence fell upon him once again, his eyes came into contact with Eve as she huddled down on her knees holding onto something as her back was turned to him.  
  
  
  
"Thank God," she cried out choked up on emotion as Chris moved forward and for the first time he saw the tiny pair of arms wrapped around Eve's shoulders.  
  
  
  
"Mommy," a small child sobbed as Eve pulled her more completely into her arms, "mommy, what's going on…"  
  
  
"You're safe now," Eve promised hugging her daughter closer to her as she heard the footsteps behind her. Seconds later she spun around on the defense ready to take on the person behind her, but when Chris stepped out of the shadows, a breath of relief escaped her lips as she rushed over to him holding Sarah as if she'd never let go.  
  
  
  
"Eve," Chris began at a loss as he looked to the dark haired child in her arms, "Eve is she…"  
  
  
"She's okay," Eve explained tearfully, "She's really okay."  
  
  
"Mommy, where are we," Sarah questioned in confusion as she pulled her eyes out from where she'd been hiding them behind Eve's jacket.  
  
  
  
"We're safe now," Eve kissed the top of her head gently as she squeezed her arms around her daughter more completely, "We're going to be okay because now we're with your daddy."  
  
  
  
"My daddy," Sarah's brown eyes widened as she looked around the room curiously, "Where is he?"  
  
  
"He's right over there," Eve nodded in Chris's direction unable to contain her tears as Sarah's big eyes widened and she slowly shifted in Eve's arms to eye Chris with heavy scrutiny before she turned to Eve again bringing her tiny lips up to Eve's ear and whispering before Eve nodded.  
  
  
  
Sarah watched Eve for a long moment before bashfully turning to look at Chris once again as her lip curled in a pout, "If you're really my daddy, can we just go home now? I'm hungry…"  
  
  
"Of course we can," Chris replied with a smile unable to contain the surprise and amazement he'd felt in seeing the little girl in Eve's arms. There was so much running through his mind, but as he could see himself reflected in Sarah's dark eyes, all that mattered was the family he had before him as he reached out to Eve pulling the both of them into an embrace as suddenly everything in his world changed as he was not only with the woman he loved, but his long lost daughter as well. Tears clouded his vision as he had so many questions, but for now all that mattered was that they were safe in his arms and the rest could be dealt with later as Sarah was finally home where she belonged. 


	9. Chapter 11

"Do you have toys at the new house we're going to," Sarah questioned focusing completely on Chris as she situated herself on Eve's lap as Chris drove them back to the airport where the plane was waiting to take them back home again.  
  
  
  
"Would you like there to be toys there," Chris replied noting the curiosity brewing through Sarah's big brown eyes as her shyness seemed to melt away upon their leaving the zoo and spending a few more minutes with one another.  
  
  
  
"Well duh, there has to be toys," Sarah shook her head at him bringing her hands up to her cheeks as she shook her head with a heavy sigh, "You sure have a lot to learn about being a daddy there, don't you?"  
  
  
  
"Sarah," Eve's eyes widened with her daughter's words as she looked down to her.  
  
  
  
"Well it's true," Sarah explained with heavy emphasis, "I mean I am a little girl you know and little girls like lots of toys."  
  
  
Chris couldn't help but laugh as he looked to her seeing so much of himself and Eve in her as the reality of the situation hit him hard. No longer was he Chris Ramsey, the man who had nothing to lose in this world, but he was Chris Ramsey, the man in love with the woman of his dreams and a father and in these precious moments with Sarah and Eve he felt as if his dreams were all coming true.  
  
  
  
"So, if you don't have toys at our house, what do we have," Sarah inquired again breaking through his thoughts as her dark eyes gazed up at him expectantly.  
  
  
  
"Well, we have a nice martini bar," he teased as Sarah's lip curled in a pout and she placed her hands on her hips.  
  
  
  
"What's that," she grumbled with a skeptic eye, "I never heard of anything like that. It doesn't sound like it's for kids very much since I never heard of it."  
  
  
"That's because it's not for kids sweetheart," Eve threw Chris a tiny mock glare as she ran her fingers through her daughter's dark hair.  
  
  
  
"Then why would he say he had one," Sarah questioned innocently.  
  
  
  
"Because that martini bar is very important to us being a family," Chris answered with a soft smile.  
  
  
  
"It is?" Sarah quickly turned her attention to him once again, "Why is that?"  
  
  
"Because that is where your mommy and daddy fell in love with one another," he reached out to her patting her head gently, "and that's how we were able to have you."  
  
  
"At a martini bar?" Sarah's nose wrinkled for a moment before she turned to Eve for an affirmation of Chris's words, "Mommy, did you get me at a martini bar? Do they sell little girls at those things?"  
  
  
Eve couldn't help but laugh as she explained, "Your daddy is talking about a place where he would make drinks for us. He's very good at making lots of drinks that are yummy for grown ups and when your daddy made those drinks for me, well that's when I fell in love with him and we decided we'd have you," Eve tucked a piece of Sarah's dark hair behind her ear, "When we spent that time together at your daddy's place around his martini bar, well that's when God decided it was time to bless us with the most incredible little package from heaven."  
  
  
Sarah giggled upon Eve's words as she snuggled into her mother and she raised her hand to her lips to stifle her laughter, "That's me."  
  
  
"That's right sweetie pie," Eve nodded in confession, "that is completely you."  
  
  
"So daddy made you yummy drinks and you fell in love with him and you had me huh," Sarah noted taking in Eve's words.  
  
  
  
"Something a little like that," Eve explained with another nod, "but there's a little more to it."  
  
  
"Like kissing?" Sarah's little hand covered her mouth once again as she chuckled once more, "Did you two do a lot of kissing?"  
  
  
"Well…" Eve's dark eyes drifted over to Chris once again as she could see the proud smile building over his features.  
  
  
  
"Your mommy and I did a lot of kissing," Chris answered matter of fact, "as you know she's the best kisser in the entire universe."  
  
  
"She is?" Sarah wiggled in Eve's lap to look at Chris. "And you're the best drink maker in the entire world too, huh?"  
  
  
"I think I'm pretty okay," Chris nodded in confession as he turned off the exit ramp in front of him.  
  
  
  
"Do you know how to make chocolate milkshakes?" Sarah inquired as she tilted her head to look up at him, "Because I love chocolate milkshakes."  
  
  
"Well, then today is your lucky day, Sarah because I happen to be the bestest chocolate milkshake maker in the world. Ever have a double fudge delight Ramsey milkshake magic mixer?" he offered up with a playfulness in his tone watching as she shook her head up at him.  
  
  
  
"No, what's that?" Sarah replied curiously.  
  
  
  
"Only the bestest milkshake in the entire universe, but only the most special, most beautiful princesses in the world can try it as I don't make it for just anyone you know," Chris continued as Sarah reached out to him tugging at his sleeve.  
  
  
  
"Well I think I'm a pretty good princess," she grinned widely as she explained further, "I eat all my vegetables when mommy makes me have them even if I don't like them and only one time did I sneak them to the floor when she wasn't looking, but only once so I'm an okay little girl."  
  
  
"Well, I'll tell you what," Chris softened his tone as he turned down one more side street before stopping at the light, "if you promise to tell me all the things I can do to be a good daddy when it comes to the kind of things you like, I think I'll let that one slide about your hiding your vegetables that one time. What do you say?"  
  
  
"Well it was peas," she whispered leaning in closer to him as her nose wrinkled in response, "and I hate peas."  
  
  
"Can I tell you a secret," Chris curled his finger indicating for her to come closer to him.  
  
  
  
"Sure," she answered eager to get closer to him as she wiggled out of Eve's lap, "you can tell me anything because I'm a good secret keeper."  
  
  
"In that case," he leaned in closer to her whispering in her ear, "I hate peas too. They're yucky."  
  
  
Sarah chuckled as he said the word with heavy emphasis and as her laughter bubbled over her, she turned to look at Eve, "I think I like having him around as a daddy. Can we keep him?"  
  
  
"Oh I think we can do that," Eve reached out to her, "though you should probably come over here because your daddy needs to drive."  
  
  
"But I like talking with him," Sarah pouted with a frown, "He's telling me lots of fun secrets."  
  
  
"Is he now?" Eve raised a curious brow as she watched Sarah inch over towards Chris.  
  
  
  
"Can you tell me another secret," Sarah asked excitedly.  
  
  
  
"Sure, I'll tell you one more secret," Chris tipped in towards her whispering words in her ear as her laughter filled the interior of the car once again before she settled into Eve's lap with a knowing look.  
  
  
  
"That's a good one," Sarah decided with a tiny giggle as Chris winked at her.  
  
  
  
"But don't say anything, okay?" Chris urged her as Sarah nodded eagerly.  
  
  
  
"You've got my word on it," she gave him a thumbs up sign as she tilted her head up towards her mother motioning for Eve to bend down so she could whisper in her ear, "He's pretty cool mommy. I think I really like him even if he needs a little help sometimes."  
  
  
"I really like him too," Eve confessed taking in the ease at which Chris and Sarah had started to bond as she held her daughter close to her saying a silent prayer that Sarah had been alright.  
  
  
  
"Are you telling my secrets over there," Chris teased as Sarah shook her head in dramatically.  
  
  
  
"No, I told you I was good at keeping secrets and I'm not saying a word to mommy about how you hate peas or how you think she's one of the most beautiful princesses in the entire universe just like me or that you're taking us to a toy store right now so that I can get anything I want for our new home," she cupped her hand over her mouth upon realizing she'd blurted out their secret as a tiny gasp filled her up inside before her lips bunched up in a pout, "I'm sorry…"  
  
  
"Oh it's okay," Chris smiled down at her, "I don't mind your mommy knowing our secrets as she's part of our family and we all can keep secrets together."  
  
  
"So mommy can be in on the secret club too?" Sarah let out a breath of relief, "Oh thank heaven because I thought I blew it. Mommy, isn't this the greatest? We're going to a toy store and then getting some milkshakes?"  
  
  
"It's wonderful Sarah," Eve replied curling her arm more completely around Sarah as Sarah snuggled into her chest.  
  
  
  
"You know the more I think about this, the better and better today is. I mean how many girls are so lucky that they can say they meet their new daddy and get to go to a toy store and get to have a chocolate milkshake," Sarah boasted as she focused upon Eve, "When you told me that my daddy was the greatest, you were so right. How is it you're so smart mommy?"  
  
  
"Well, I had a little help over the years with that one," Eve touched her daughter's face as Sarah settled in beside her.  
  
  
  
"Mommy, how come I'm not in my car seat?" Sarah inquired moving on to the next thing that popped into her mind, "I know we're going to a new home today, but I thought when I was in the car I needed a car seat. You know like my big girl seat we have when Henry takes us out sometimes?"  
  
  
"We're going to get you a new big girl seat," Chris promised as Eve was at a loss. "Would you like to pick out your own big girl car seat?"  
  
  
"Boy would I ever. The one that Henry gave me was yucky," Sarah sighed heavily, "It hurt me when we went out and I didn't like it very much because it was too small for me…"  
  
  
"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Chris questioned as he pulled into the toy store parking lot.  
  
  
  
"No, we can't," she sighed again, "I didn't really like living with Henry because he wasn't very nice. Even today when he told me to wait for him, well, it was really dark in there and I got scared. I was afraid the monsters were going to get me until mommy showed up…"   
  
  
  
"The monsters," Chris repeated as he stopped the car and turned his attention to Sarah, "Who are the monsters, Sarah?"  
  
  
"They're the people who took me away from mommy," Sarah confessed tearfully as she reached out to touch Eve's face, "They're the ones who told me my mommy was dead and that I'd never see her again. They said I had to live with Henry and I could never be with my mommy again. They said I was a bad girl and that's why they took you away…"  
  
  
"Oh Sarah," Eve pulled her into an embrace, "they'll never be able to hurt you again."  
  
  
"I was so scared," Sarah hugged her tighter, "I didn't not want see you. You're my mommy and I love you…"  
  
  
"I love you too baby," Eve squeezed her as if she'd never let go.  
  
  
  
"Mommy, you're squishing me," Sarah groaned as she placed a distance between her and Eve, "Mommy, why are you crying?"  
  
  
"Because I love you so very much," Eve touched her daughter's face unable to contain the tears that over came her.   
  
  
  
"I love you too mommy," Sarah squeezed her arms around Eve, "I don't ever want to go back again. I don't want to be without you, mommy."  
  
  
"You're never going to have to be," Eve promised her with a soft kiss on the top of her head, "We're going to live with your daddy now and nothing is going to keep us apart again."  
  
  
"Do we have to keep moving to new houses again?" Sarah inquired with big, brown eyes, "Will I have to keep getting new toys once we leave?"  
  
  
"The toys we get today are toys you can keep forever," Eve promised her tearfully.  
  
  
"Really?" Sarah's expression shifted as she looked to Chris, "I get to keep all the toys we get today?"  
  
  
"Forever and ever," Chris promised her as he extended his arm out to her, "What do you say we get a head start on picking out the good stuff? I hear they have some nice Barbies inside the store today waiting to go home with a pretty little princess named Sarah."  
  
  
"That's my name," she squealed leaping into his arms.  
  
  
  
"You don't say," Chris teased with a wink, "Well Sarah, rumor has it that there are lots of books that want to come home with you as well."  
  
  
  
"I love books," Sarah confided with a grin, "and I was thinking that maybe there would be some stuffed animals and games that want to go home with us too to the new house because they need new houses too."  
  
  
"So they do," Chris poked at her belly gently, "and I think they'd like some milkshakes too huh?"  
  
  
"Would they ever," Sarah agreed cheerfully as her eyes drifted back to Eve, "Mommy, are you ready to get me some toys?"  
  
  
"You bet I am," Eve nodded in response wiping at her eyes as she and Chris took Sarah for her first family adventure at the toy store.  
  
*************************  
  
Silence surrounded Chris and Eve as Eve tipped her head to gaze at Sarah in the backseat of the rental car as she'd now drifted off to sleep in her car seat with a floppy eared rabbit in hand that Chris had picked up for her along with the bags of toys that were in trunk. The enthusiasm and excitement had seemingly been too much for Sarah as her exhaustion had carried her away to dreamland a short while ago and now Eve leaned over the seat to tuck a blanket over Sarah before she returned to her seat once again.  
  
  
  
"She had a big day today, didn't she?" Chris commented as he smiled at Eve.  
  
  
  
"I think we all have, but then again it was hard to tell who was having more fun in that toy store given how you were going overboard with her," Eve couldn't help but laugh.  
  
  
  
"What my little girl wants, my little girl gets," Chris explained proudly, "as that's Sarah's first rule of being a good daddy."  
  
  
"I think our daughter's bilking this for all it's worth with you," she teased back, "and you're buying right into her charm."  
  
  
"Well, she is my daughter," Chris boasted as the thought sent a warmth right though him as pride washed over him, "Would you expect anything less?"  
  
  
"Never," Eve reached out to touch his leg and offer up a soft squeeze as she scooted in closer to him in the front seat, "You're one in a million, Chris."  
  
  
"No Eve, you're that one in a million," he whispered as he felt her lay her head upon his shoulder, "as I've waited a lifetime for something like this."  
  
  
"Chris, I just wish things were different for us," Eve sighed heavily, "That somehow we could've had this from the beginning instead of…"  
  
  
"I know," Chris nodded in response, "Baby, I wish things were different too, but well, right now we just need to focus on keeping what we have from falling apart," his eyes drifted to the rear view mirror as he caught a glimpse of his sleeping daughter.  
  
  
  
"You don't think it's over either, do you," Eve questioned with a frown as she lifted her head up from his shoulder.  
  
  
  
"I wish I could say I did, but with Henry, we both know better," Chris sighed heavily, "and in him leaving Sarah for us like that, well, as much as I'm grateful to have her back, Eve there's something missing in all of this…"  
  
  
  
"I know," she agreed feeling a chill creep up over her spine, "Henry wouldn't do something so generous without an ulterior motive."  
  
  
"Maybe we should go get Sarah checked up," Chris hated to say it, but given what condition he'd found Eve in, he wouldn't put anything past Henry.  
  
  
  
"Chris, you and I both took a look at her when we found her…" Eve began with worry evident in her tone.  
  
  
  
"I know we did, but it couldn't hurt to have a second opinion," Chris explained with a sigh, "and besides Kevin agreed with me when I said I didn't think it was safe for us to go back to Port Charles right now."  
  
  
"But I thought we were going to the airport and…" Eve began in confusion.  
  
  
  
"Kevin and I worked on something else," Chris explained to her as he continued down the darkened path before them, "We both know that men like Henry just don't throw in the towel and given that he is obsessed with having you back, well I don't expect him to just back down…"  
  
  
"But Chris, he gave us Sarah and he tried to kill me," Eve started in confusion, "If he really was going to come for me, then why do what he did today?"  
  
  
"I haven't figured that one out, but you said yourself that you don't believe it's over," Chris frowned in response, "With that tape and with what he was trying to do with us…Eve, I just want to be sure that everything is okay with Sarah and with you…"  
  
  
"With me?" she repeated in confusion, "Chris, you know I'm fine now that we have Sarah and…"  
  
  
"Eve, I know how hard these last few years had to be on you," Chris pointed out once again hating to think of the damage that had been done because of his father, "and if Henry took this much time torturing you, well maybe it's time you see someone…"  
  
  
"You mean like a psychiatrist?" Eve shook her head adamantly, "No way. I'm not going to talk to anyone about this because I don't want anyone to know about what he's done to me."  
  
  
"Eve, he manipulated you and violated you in every sense of the word," Chris reminded her painfully, "I don't think we can just ignore all the damage he's done."  
  
  
"Chris, I can't talk about this," she argued with him, "I don't want to talk about it as all I want to do is get Sarah to safety and focus on the future, not the past."  
  
  
"Eve, Henry still thinks of you as his wife…as his property and we have to work on changing that," Chris explained with a heavy sigh, "He's not just going to let you walk away from him without a fight…"  
  
  
"Don't you think I know that Chris?" she snapped in response clenching her hands at her sides as tears pooled in her eyes, "Don't you think that I hate what he's done to me?"  
  
  
"Eve, that's why I want you to talk to someone," Chris began gently reaching out to her, "I know how Henry's methods of torture can tear at a person and from what I saw over the last few days, well, I'm afraid for you baby…"  
  
  
"Chris, it's over with…" Eve turned her eyes towards the road ahead of them as a hollowness filled her tone.  
  
  
  
"No, Eve it's not and we both know better than to think that," he paused thinking of the tape Henry had left behind to torture them with, "Eve, you need to talk to someone about what happened…about what he did to you…"  
  
  
"Chris, it's in the past," Eve insisted repeating her earlier words, "I don't want to think about what I went through as Sarah doesn't need to have a mother who is weak…"  
  
  
"You aren't weak," Chris sighed pulling into the driveway before him making his way up to the small house that Kevin had arranged for the three of them to stay at until things were safer for their family. "You were never weak."  
  
  
"Yes I was Chris," she wiped at her tears struggling to keep her voice down as she hoped not to awaken Sarah, "A strong woman would've fought like hell to get out of that situation."  
  
  
"And you're expecting me to believe that you didn't," Chris inquired unable to believe that was the case as Eve let out a frustrated breath.  
  
  
  
"Chris, we're not having this conversation right now," she blurted out opening the passenger side door and quickly removing Sarah from the backseat as Chris reluctantly followed taking the both of them into the house as he realized that Eve had far more demons haunting her than she cared to admit. He just prayed that somehow he could help her find the strength to break free of the nightmare Henry had placed her in.  
  
********************  
  
"Sarah's eyes closed as soon as her head hit the pillow," Eve announced stepping out of the bedroom she'd tucked Sarah away in as she noticed Chris over by the fireplace poking at the fire before him. She held the baby monitor she'd carried with her from Sarah's room to keep a listen on her away into her pocket as she approached him ready to take a few minutes to unwind with him.  
  
  
  
"I'm glad she can find some peace," Chris admitted tearing his eyes away from the fire as he looked up at Eve, "but I just wish her mother could do the same."  
  
  
"Chris, please don't push this," Eve sighed tucking her legs beneath her as she sat down beside him on the floor watching the crackling of the fire burning in front of them.  
  
  
  
"Eve, I'm worried about you," Chris confessed openly, "Can I help it if I love you so much that I want to help you through this?"  
  
  
"Having you here with me again is all the help I need," Eve offered up as she faced him fully, "I don't want to think about where I was before or how things could've gone. All that's important is that you're with me and we have Sarah again…"  
  
  
"Eve, you know there's more to it than that," Chris reached out to her as Eve cupped her hand in his bringing it up over her face.  
  
  
  
"There doesn't have to be," she leaned into his touch before bringing his hand up over her lips as she placed slow, tender kisses into his palm, "We don't have to have anything other than the love we have for each other and Sarah."  
  
  
"Eve, it's just that you and I both know…" he sighed feeling her tender kisses cause sparks of electricity over him as her dark eyes penetrated his.  
  
  
  
"Chris, we don't have to talk about the past or think about anything other than what we have right here and now between us," she guided his hand over her body, using her free hand to unfasten her blouse before she eased his hand inside the sheer material urging him to cup her breast as her eyes darkened with passion, "All that matters is the here and now…"  
  
  
"Eve," he breathed in response as she dipped forward catching his lips in a whisper of a kiss as she urged his hand in beneath the soft, lace cup of her bra needing to feel his touch upon her as her tongue dipped between his parted lips.  
  
  
  
"I need you Chris," she murmured reaching out to tease her fingers over the center of his chest as she clumsily fumbled with the buttons on his shirt opening them in a haste before her hand traced over the warm contours of his chest, ending up over his belt buckle as she withdrew from the kiss, her eyes burning with passion as she dropped her touch over his trousers, "You're all I need right now…"  
  
  
  
"Eve baby, I need you too, but I really think that we should," he whispered as she nibbled on his lower lip as her fingers teased over his now hardened length beneath his trousers.  
  
  
  
"We should just hold each other and say a prayer that our daughter is back with us," she whispered against his neck as her mouth tapered off over his heated skin. Suckling his earlobe as his pulse quickened, she tentatively opened the zipper on his slacks, bringing her hand in beneath the material to stroke him leisurely, "make love to me, Chris…"  
  
  
"Eve," he gulped wanting more than anything to give in to her request, but as he reached out to touch her face, he could see the same hint of sadness behind her eyes that she'd tried to hide earlier when he'd first started speaking with her about her experience and a sigh spilled over his lips, "I can't do this to you now…not knowing that you're trying to avoid what's bothering you."  
  
  
"Nothing's bothering me Chris," Eve frowned in response as her fingers danced over his skin, erasing the limits of his resolve as she pressed him back onto the floor, crushing him with her soft curves as she climbed over him, "except for the fact that I want to love you and you're being stubborn about it…"  
  
  
"Eve, I…" his words were silenced by another demanding kiss from her and a slow moan rose up inside of him as she shed her blouse in an instant, taking with it her bra as the heat of her skin against his burned him to the core and he instinctively curled his arms around her savoring the feel of their bodies united on a more primal level as her kisses tapered off over his chest.  
  
  
  
"I love you, Chris," she whispered over his naval, quickly opening the buckle on his belt as her hands worked to tug his slacks and boxers down below his knees before her kisses returned to his thigh, her tongue taking in every incredible inch of his skin before her lips pressed down upon his hardened length tasting him with one quick breath of a kiss over him.  
  
  
  
"Eve," he sucked in a sharp breath bringing his fingers through her hair, as she took him more completely into her mouth sheathing him as desire coursed through his body. Her tongue flicked over him as she took her time to draw out his pleasure making him hotter by the second as she continued to lavish him with her complete attention. His hips bucked involuntarily up towards her as his pulse quickened, his breath growing ragged as the talk they'd been having earlier fell back into his mind and in that instant he grew rigid against her straining not to let his need for release keep him from focusing on what was important between them as he tugged on her hair gently urging her to stop what she was doing, "Eve wait…"  
  
  
"What," she questioned in confusion dropping teasing butterfly kisses over his body, "aren't you enjoying this?"  
  
  
"More than you know," he pulled her up to meet his eyes as he fought to keep his breathing even, "but baby, I'm not going to let you do this just to keep me from talking to you about what's bothering you…"  
  
  
"Chris, I…" Eve started as tears pooled in her eyes and she placed her hands into the center of his chest shoving him away from her as she sat up with a huff, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"  
  
  
"Give me one reason why I should," Chris demanded struggling to keep his cool as the chill in the air caused him to stiffen with the memory of Eve's kisses over him. Forcing the thought into the back of his mind, he scooped his pants up in a half hearted attempt to stay focused as he watched her pull her legs up to her chest and rocking herself on the floor as her arms held her body in the curled up position she'd come to be in. With a sigh, he reached for his shirt bringing it over her shoulders as he knelt in behind her covering up her bare skin as he whispered in her ear, "Eve, please don't shut me out…"  
  
  
"Chris, it's just I don't want to talk about this," she turned to look over her shoulder at him as tears spilled down her cheeks, "Why can't you just accept that?"  
  
  
"Because I know you need to talk about this," Chris pulled her into his arms as her tears caused an ache to fill his heart, "I know we need to do this before we can go through the healing process."  
  
  
"Can't we just make love and try to forget about what happened," she asked in between tiny sobs.  
  
  
  
"Eve, when we make love it shouldn't be because we're trying to forget what my father's done," he hugged her in his arms cradling her against him, "It should be because it's what we want to do--because it feels like the only thing to do when our love has taken over…not because you're trying to forget…"  
  
  
"Chris, that's not what I'm doing," Eve began in desperation.  
  
  
  
"I know what you said and what you're trying to say, but Eve," he pressed his lips over her forehead, "I love you so much that right now all I want to do is make this better and I know in my heart that making love like this is only going to make it worse."  
  
  
"How can making love make things worse?" she questioned in confusion.  
  
  
  
"Because right now you're hurting and I want to help you heal," he whispered tenderly, "and if you let me inside, we can find a way to do that together."  
  
  
"Chris, I…" she started to argue, but then stopped herself as her tears overcame her and he hugged her in his arms accepting her sobs into his chest as his heart ached for the woman he loved and he said a silent prayer that somehow he'd be able to find a way to make up for all the damage Henry had inflicted upon her. One way or another, he vowed to make her feel safe again, to help her through the nightmare she'd been living as having Eve feel free again was something that meant so very much to him. Now as her tears overcame her, he just prayed that somehow his being here for her would be enough as he was well aware of the damage Henry had caused even if Eve was still in denial about the situation.  
  
  
  
"I love you," Chris whispered humming a soft tune to her as he kept his arms around her offering up all the love he could as right now all that mattered was helping the woman he loved pull through the nightmare she'd been living for so very long. 


	10. Chapter 12

Chris felt Eve's sobs die down as he kept her in his arms wanting to make her feel safe and protected as he realized that the demons of the past were still haunting her far more than she'd wanted to admit. Now as she snuggled in against him, he kissed the top of her head wishing that there was some way he could propose a quick fix to this situation, but alas he knew that this was only the beginning as they faced her misery together in an attempt to heal the wrongs that had fallen upon them.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry," Eve sniffled as she tipped her head up to meet Chris's eyes, "I shouldn't have tried to push things with us…"  
  
  
"Eve, sweetie, you have nothing to be sorry for," Chris tried to assure her touching her cheek gently as he held her, "I just want to be able for us to find a way to help you get through all of this."  
  
  
"I know…I really do know that on some level, but Chris, you know how I feel about talking things through especially things like this," Eve sighed heavily as she lowered her eyes once again, "When I think about it…"  
  
  
"Eve, there's nothing you can't tell me. You should know that by now," Chris insisted squeezing her closer to him, "Believe me on this one as you know all my shameful exploits and things that no other person has known about me."  
  
  
"Even so this isn't the same," Eve met his concerned eyes, "this isn't like the time Lucy Coe told the world I was once an escort. This is about the time I spent with your father in a situation that…"  
  
  
"That was horrible," Chris finished with a knowing look, "Eve, I realize that he did some terrible things to you, but you can't hold it all in. Sweetie, we need to find you some help…"  
  
  
"Chris, I can't tell a perfect stranger about everything and besides," she frowned in response, "What is talking about it going to accomplish?"  
  
  
"It might help you in ways that right now don't seem clear or possible," Chris offered up gently, "as you and I both know that wounds like this won't heal overnight."  
  
  
"Chris, you don't understand," Eve frowned as she shifted her positioning on the floor sitting upright as she looked to the fireplace, "When your father took me, well I was so determined to get away. I was ready to do anything and everything in my power to find a way to fix the situation I was in. I mean here I was taking on a man who'd made my life miserable--a man who'd damn near destroyed me the first time I was pregnant and when DV hired Henry to do all of those things in keeping me away…"  
  
  
"Eve," he sat up reaching out to touch her shoulder as he could feel her pain consuming her.  
  
  
  
"Chris, I wasn't going to accept defeat, but then, well once I found out that I was having Sarah," Eve began tearfully, "things changed. I refused to put her life in danger as I knew what happened the last time I'd crossed DV. Sure, he wasn't there with Henry and I, but I knew he'd been pulling the strings," she paused thinking back to her time being held captive, "Before I knew I was pregnant, Henry would taunt me, get violent when I'd tried to get away, but that I could take. I mean sure I've deal with men in the past who had issues with using violence as a means of control and I always believed that I'd get away, but then…"  
  
  
"Then what?" Chris touched her shoulder, "Eve, what happened?"  
  
  
"As soon as he was certain that the timing was right, well, they'd done an amnio and when Henry discovered that Sarah was really yours," Eve closed her eyes feeling the tears slip past her cheeks, "that's when things changed."  
  
  
"Because you were trying to protect our daughter," Chris half questioned as she nodded painfully.  
  
  
  
"I didn't realize that they were becoming what they were, but the day after they ran the tests, well that was the first time Henry…" Eve stopped herself as her voice grew cracked with emotion, "It was as if he knew that you and I had something precious between us and he wanted to destroy it. I can still feel him over me…his hands on my throat as he kept…" she broke down into full blown tears again trembling at the memory.  
  
  
  
"Eve," Chris wrapped his arm around her securely wishing that he hadn't brought this up as her heart was breaking before his very eyes.  
  
  
  
"All he kept telling me was wouldn't Chris just love to see his whore now," Eve continued her voice growing hollow with the memory as a chill rushed over her, "He kept telling me that I was his and that from that point on, there would be no going back as you'd never want me--that you'd never look at me the same after I'd been with him--that in your mind I was betraying you and you'd never forgive that…you'd never forget."  
  
  
"Eve, this wasn't your fault," Chris began kissing the top of her head as he turned her in his arms, "You did everything in your power to save me and our little girl and I could never blame you for that…"  
  
  
"But Chris I should've…" she started painfully.  
  
  
  
"You did what you had to do and you survived," he cupped her face in his hands, "You're back with me and our daughter is safe. We're a family Eve and we're going to find a way to make Henry pay for hurting you. He's not going to get away with any of this and when the time is right, well then we'll work on trying to work on that life we should've had a long time ago."  
  
  
"You mean when I get past what's happened," Eve questioned sadly.  
  
  
  
"Eve, what happened was not your fault. I don't blame you for any of this as if anything this happened to you because of me," Chris ran his fingers through her hair before pulling away from her, "because I loved you I put you in a position for Henry to…"  
  
  
"No, Chris, don't do that," she shook her head placing her hand over his mouth to silence him, "Please don't blame yourself for what happened because I can't bear the thought of you doing that…"  
  
  
"Eve, you endured so much to try to keep me safe. You and our daughter went through a nightmare all because you chose to love me…chose to be in my life…"  
  
  
"And despite the way things went down, Chris I wouldn't change loving you for a second," Eve blurted out tearfully, "Loving you was the one thing that kept me longing to keep going. Your love gave me Sarah and with Sarah I found a renewed faith in us…in how much we had to keep fighting for and not even Henry could take that away from me."  
  
  
"Eve, I just wish…" he sighed unable to found the right words as he leaned forward kissing her gently, "You're everything to me. You have had my heart from the moment I met you and I know now that I have you here with me, I'm going to do anything and everything in my power to keep you and Sarah safe. That's the most important thing in my life."  
  
  
"Chris, I just want to forget about what happened. I want to put it behind us and just focus on what we have together," Eve pleaded with him, "I want that more than anything."  
  
  
"And we'll have that Eve," he assured her pressing his forehead against hers, "Just as soon as Henry is put behind bars for life."  
  
  
"I just want him out of our lives," Eve confessed throwing her arms around him, "I don't even want to think about him. I want him gone so that we can go through our days without having to look over our shoulders in fear of him lurking…"  
  
  
"We'll make that happen one day," Chris promised cupping her face in his hands and kissing her gently, "One day we'll find a way to make that possible for us and we'll go all out. I'm talking the works. We'll get a house with a yard and hey maybe even a dog. What do you say to that?"  
  
  
"A dog," Eve couldn't help but smile at the thought, "and a swing set for Sarah?"  
  
  
"We'll get two swing sets for her," Chris promised dropping a tender kiss upon her salty lips, "and while we're at it, maybe we can even work on giving Sarah a little brother or sister running around. We can have the American dream there with the kids and the house and the little quiet slice of heaven."  
  
  
"It sounds like a beautiful dream," Eve confessed cuddling into his arms, "and I know that Sarah would love every minute of it as she already loves you so very much."  
  
  
"She's so beautiful, Eve," Chris admitted thinking to their perfect little girl, "She looks so much like you and she's got the most amazing spirit."  
  
  
"She gets that from you. I can see it when I'm with her," Eve couldn't help but smile proudly of their daughter, "She's got such a zest for life even considering all we've been through."  
  
  
"I tend to think she gets her spunk from her mother as her mother's always been a very strong willed, determined woman who went through hell to return to the life that was hers," Chris reminded Eve brushing her hair behind her shoulder as he held her, "You're a fighter Eve and I have no doubt in my mind that our little girl is going to follow in your footsteps taking on the world."  
  
  
"I want so much more for our daughter. I want her to have a life of happiness--a life where she doesn't have to worry about living up to her parent's mistakes…where she isn't ashamed of her background and where she came from as her mother was a complete failure."  
  
  
"Eve, you're so far from being a failure," Chris urged her to meet his eyes, "You're nothing like your mother was as you've put your daughter first in your life and Sarah knows that. I can see it when she looks at you as she loves you so very much and while I hate that I wasn't there with the both of you when she game into this world, I want nothing more than to learn all I can about her as I see so much of you in her eyes."  
  
  
"She's the best thing that ever happened to me," Eve beamed proudly thinking of their little girl, "well except for her father…"  
  
  
"But of course," Chris hugged her in his arms feeling her relax a bit as his finger tips massaged over her spine gently, "as you know I do happen to have that effect on women."  
  
  
"Well I wouldn't go that far," Eve teased with a tiny giggle as her brown eyes lifted up to his once more, "but you do have a way with me…"  
  
  
  
"I'm glad to hear it because truth be told you're really the one and only woman except for our daughter that I'm out to impress," he leaned down to kiss her teasingly.  
  
  
  
"Then you've succeeded in your mission because I find you absolutely charming," Eve offered up in confession as the tiny baby monitor at her side made a sound before she heard Sarah calling out to her.  
  
  
  
"Mommy," Sarah's voice beckoned her in what sounded like fear as Eve exchanged looks with Chris before leaping up to go check in their daughter. She quickly fumbled with the buttons on Chris's shirt she was wearing closing it up as she entered Sarah's room turning on the light to find Sarah sitting upright in bed with tears in her eyes.  
  
  
  
"Mommy, I had a bad dream," Sarah explained as Eve rushed over to her side pulling her completely into her arms.  
  
  
  
"It's okay baby," Eve tried to soothe her daughter as she ran her fingers through Sarah's dark hair, "It's going to be okay now as the dream's all gone."  
  
  
"It was so scary," Sarah explained with a sniffle as Eve held her closer, "I was so worried that…"  
  
  
"It's over now baby," Eve promised as Sarah looked up at her with a tiny half smile.  
  
  
  
"I'm just glad you're here with me," Sarah replied as Eve touched her tiny cheek.  
  
  
  
"I wouldn't be anywhere else," Eve assured her thinking about how close she'd come to losing her.  
  
  
  
"Is my daddy still here," Sarah questioned as her gaze drifted to the doorway where Chris was standing taking in the scene between Sarah and Eve. As soon as Sarah saw him, her eyes widened and she opened up her arms to accept him as she explained, "I had a bad dream."  
  
  
"A bad dream you say," Chris replied stepping in towards the bed before bending down to scoop her up in his arms, "This is horrible news that we really need to work on fixing, Princess Sarah."  
  
  
"It was so scary," Sarah explained throwing her arms around him as she cuddled into him, "There were monsters and tigers and they wouldn't let me be near you or mommy…"  
  
  
"Hmm, well the next time you have one of those bad dreams, you just tell the bad dream that isn't going to happen because your daddy and your mommy aren't going to let the monsters or the tigers get you."  
  
  
"Really?" Sarah's eyes widened in surprise, "I can do that?"  
  
  
"You absolutely can," Chris nodded in confession, "as you can do anything you want in your dreams."  
  
  
"Really? You mean I could fly if I wanted to?" she inquired turning her big eyes up towards him.  
  
  
  
"Of course you can," Chris nodded, "In fact you can start flying right now if you'd like."  
  
  
"Really?" she gasped as Chris began making airplane sounds as he carried her around the room 'flying' with her as her laughter surrounded them filling the small bedroom before he returned to Eve's side setting Sarah down on the bed. She curled her lip in a pout stretching her arms out towards him, "Daddy, let's do it again."  
  
  
"Okay, but only one more time," Chris repeated the process enjoying the sounds of Sarah's happiness as he returned to sit beside Eve on the bed with Sarah in his arms.  
  
  
  
"Daddy," Sarah patted at his arm, "Let's do it again and again…"  
  
  
"Sarah, just give daddy a minute here," Chris felt a dizzying sensation take over him as he looked to Eve, "Did you see our daughter flying?"  
  
  
"She was having the time of her life, wasn't she," Eve reached out to touch Sarah.  
  
  
  
"He's like totally the best," Sarah nodded before giving Eve a strange look. She turned to Chris eyeing him closely before refocusing on Eve, "Mommy, why are you wearing Daddy's shirt?"  
  
  
"Well I…" Eve began as she looked to Chris.  
  
  
  
"She was cold so I thought I'd share my shirt with her," Chris offered up in explanation.  
  
  
  
"Well, aren't you cold too?" Sarah asked innocently.  
  
  
  
"Nah, I'm too busy being an airplane with my Sarah," Chris hoisted her up into his arms again spinning her around the room as Eve watched the two of them together realizing that at long last she'd finally found the happiness in her life that had slipped away time and time again as in being with Chris and Sarah she'd finally found her way back home. 


	11. Chapter 13

Eve felt the sunlight creep in through the window as she turned in the large bed only to discover Sarah sleeping soundly between her and Chris. As her eyes began to open, she noticed that Chris was wide awake taking this time enjoying the image of Eve and Sarah snuggled up beside one another. Silently he winked at Eve before throwing out a small wave as Eve felt a smile lift over her features.  
  
  
  
"Morning," she whispered over the top of Sarah's head as she reached out across her daughter capturing his hand in hers, "how long have you been awake?"  
  
  
"Long enough to thank heaven that I'm not just dreaming," Chris confessed with a soft smile, "and when I realized that this was happening, well I couldn't bring myself to leave this very spot as it seemed that I'd found everything I've always been waiting for right here with the two of you."  
  
  
"Chris," Eve felt a heat rise over her features as she motioned to Sarah, "she's going to be out like a light for a while as you tired her out last night playing airplane."  
  
  
"I didn't do that," Chris feigned innocence.  
  
  
  
"Oh yes you did and she takes after you when it comes to sleeping," Eve chuckled lightly before Sarah let out a loud, thunderous snore, "and in terms of snoring as well."  
  
  
"Hey now I think I strongly object to that one," Chris teased watching as Eve shifted on the bed giving their daughter a quick kiss on the head before standing up to stretch, "Wanna go talk for a bit?"  
  
  
"Sure," Chris nodded tucking the blanket up around Sarah and giving her a kiss on the forehead as well as he followed Eve out of the bedroom. As he started to close the door behind them, he left it open a crack so that they could keep an ear on things where their daughter was concerned.  
  
  
  
"Hey," Eve faced him once again a smile on her face as she reached out to him bringing her hand up over the center of his chest.  
  
  
  
"Hey to you too," Chris smiled curling his arms around her waist as he held her closer to him, "Have I told you lately that I spent all last night dreaming about you?"  
  
  
"Oh you have huh," Eve couldn't help but smile as she teased her fingers over his bare chest savoring the warmth beneath her touch.  
  
  
  
"That's right," he tipped down to kiss her tenderly, "you've been on my mind for quite some time beautiful."  
  
  
"Funny thing," Eve murmured against his kiss, "You were dancing around my dreams as well it seems."  
  
  
  
"Hmm, well you know they say that great minds think alike," he nibbled on her lower lip curling his arm more completely around her as he savored this morning moment with her.  
  
  
  
"In that case it should come as no surprise that we're so well in tune with one another," she whispered against his lips standing up on her toes to embrace him, "as we seem to have this certain thing about us."  
  
  
"Thing you say," he arched a playful brow, "and just what might that thing be?"  
  
  
"I was thinking it was this crazy little emotion called love," Eve smiled in response as she threw her arms around him as he pulled her into his arms lifting her up off of her toes to kiss him more completely.  
  
  
  
"Hmm, love…I think I like that," he squeezed her in closer to him savoring the sweetness of her kiss as she sound of footsteps came from behind them and Sarah cleared her throat with heavy exaggeration.  
  
  
  
"Um, does this mean I have to go back to bed until you two are done so that the next time I wake up I can get breakfast," she questioned curiously as Chris and Eve parted and Eve found herself unable to contain the laugh that built up in the back of her throat.  
  
  
  
"Of course this doesn't mean you have to go back to bed," Chris spun around to hoist Sarah up in his arms as she giggled boisterously cuddling into him, "In fact, I was just about to come in there and wake you up to make you whatever you wanted for breakfast."  
  
  
"Sure you were daddy," she laughed with a tiny snort shaking her head at him as it was obvious she didn't believe him, "but since you have me now, you can still make me what I want for breakfast," she paused for a moment, "You do know how to cook really good huh?"  
  
  
"I cook even better than I make milkshakes so we're in business," Chris promised her eagerly as he cast a look over his shoulder at Eve, "Care to join us mom?"  
  
  
"Yeah mom come on. Aren't you hungry too?" Sarah questioned bubbling over with enthusiasm.  
  
  
  
"Of course I am," Eve nodded in response following the two of them into the kitchen as Chris looked around the small room.  
  
  
  
"So where do we start," he asked Sarah as the small child pointed to the chair before her.  
  
  
  
"Right here," she explained matter of fact, "You grab that chair over there for me and I get to stand on it while you let me help you break the eggs."  
  
  
"You break eggs huh?" Chris lifted a curious brow as he shifted her in his arms grabbing the chair before setting her in it as he collected a few eggs from the refrigerator.  
  
  
  
"I make the bestest scrambled eggs," she nodded in confession, "Just ask mom."  
  
  
"You do, huh," Chris winked over at Eve as he brought a few breakfast essentials over to Sarah, "Well this I have to see."  
  
  
"Be ready," she beamed with excitement, "as I rock," she promised as Eve stood watching Chris and Sarah preparing breakfast with one another as it seemed things were finally getting back to normal once again in the Ramsey family.  
  
***************  
  
"So here we are," Chris sank into the couch turning his attention to Eve as he looked around the room seeing the scattered toys surrounding the both of them as Sarah lay in the chair across from them overcome with exhaustion after her morning of playtime with the both of them.  
  
  
  
"Yes we are," Eve patted his leg gently, "It seems you've survived your first day of being a play mate with Sarah."  
  
  
"Hmm, I think I rather enjoy it," Chris leaned in towards Eve touching her cheek gently, "exhaustion and all."  
  
  
"Just wait," Eve teased bridging the distance between them as her lips brushed against his in a tender kiss, "as it gets a lot more involved."  
  
  
"I can't wait," he whispered against her lips ready to savor the moment between them as there was a knock at the front door catching them off guard as Chris reluctantly pulled away from her. "I wonder who that could be."  
  
  
"Tell them to go away," Eve suggested with a hint of a smile, "as I'm rather enjoying this time alone with us while Sarah's napping."  
  
  
"I'll see what I can do," Chris promised opening the door to find Jack on the other side. A puzzled expression swept over his features as he noticed the look on his brother's face, "Jack, what's up?"  
  
  
"Chris, we need to get out of here like now," Jack began frantically, "I tried your cell phone, but it wasn't working and then, well I just can't explain. We need to get going before it's too late…" Jack began as the sounds of sirens built up in outside the small home, "Oh God, we're running out of time. Chris, grab Sarah and Eve because we have to move."  
  
  
"Jack, you're not making any sense. What's going on?" Chris questioned in confusion turning to his brother as the red and blue flashing lights appeared in the driveway attached to the police squad cars that screeched up to the house.  
  
  
  
"Chris, come on…" Jack started as the uniformed officers rushed up to the house shoving Jack aside as one of them grabbed Chris wrestling him down to the ground as Chris felt a confusion sweep over him.  
  
  
  
"What's going on," Chris questioned straining to get out from beneath the man that had him pinned down at Eve rushed to the doorway taking in the scene before her.  
  
  
  
"Chris," she gasped in shock as Jack grabbed her arm, "Chris, what's going on?"  
  
  
"Eve, get Sarah and make sure she's safe," Chris began turning to the officer that held him, "What are you doing? Are you insane?"  
  
  
"No sir," the man shook his head in response, "as Chris Ramsey you're under arrest."  
  
  
"For what?" Chris tried to shake out of the hold he was in as the officer slapped the handcuffs on him.  
  
  
  
"For the murder of David Bordiso," the office explained beginning to read Chris his rights as Chris gasped in response.  
  
  
  
"Have you gone mad? I haven't murdered anyone," Chris felt the officers pull him up off the ground as he turned to Jack. "Call for help Jack…"  
  
  
"I'm already on it," Jack promised as Eve rushed out onto the yard.  
  
  
  
"You're wrong," she pleaded with the officer, "Chris didn't murder anyone… He hasn't done anything…"  
  
  
"Eve," Chris pleaded with her, "Just go inside. We'll work this out one way or another, but right now Sarah needs you."  
  
  
"Chris I…" Eve began tearfully.  
  
  
  
"Go back inside," he insisted once again, "Jack can take care of you and Sarah. Call Kevin and then we'll figure out what's going on once I…" Chris continued as the officers started to drag him away. "Hey give me a second…"  
  
  
"Your time is up," the officer growled in response shoving Chris towards the squad car as Eve watched him being carried away from the house. She heard Sarah in the other room and as she turned around she saw the confusion in her daughter's features.  
  
  
  
"What are they doing? Where are they taking my daddy," Sarah questioned her voice raising with the confusion and worry that consumed her.  
  
  
  
"He's going to be okay," Eve promised her daughter watching as the officers shoved Chris into the car taking him away.  
  
  
  
"Eve, I'll get right on this," Jack began touching her arm gently, "We'll get to the heart of what's going on…"  
  
  
"This is because of your father, isn't it? He's set this all up," Eve half questioned already knowing the answer as she realized that Henry Ramsey had just sent out his latest threat to their happiness as the police took Chris away from them setting their family up for another fall as it seemed his evil would never let them be ever again. 


End file.
